THERE AND BACK AGAIN
TNT is in the PBA’s ultimate stage for the fourth straight conference after finishing off sister team Meralco in the most unlikely fashion on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
And by taking a 99-96 win in the Philippine Cup semifinal clincher, expectations are that the Tropang 5G will come into the championship tussle with either the defending champion San Miguel Beermen or crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra carrying a chip on their shoulders.
But TNT would rather not dwell too much on seeking redemption for the stinging results of its previous Finals outcome.
“We’re gonna go into this Finals thinking about us,” said Jordan Heading, who finished with 31 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals.
It was Heading who scored the go-ahead basket that made it 97-96 for the Tropang 5G, after picking the pocket of CJ Cansino following Rey Nambatac’s four-pointer.
TNT advanced despite looking like it was headed for defeat when Cansino brought Meralco all the way back from nine points down in the fourth to go in front, 96-91, with 27 ticks remaining.
That was before things took an unbelievable turn with Nambatac’s four and Heading’s basket off the steal from Cansino.
The win allowed TNT to barge its way to the title round with a 4-1 series triumph over a Meralco side that came a tad short of extending the series behind a career-high 36 points from Cansino.
That gave Heading another shot at getting his first PBA crown, a bid that he was denied last July when TNT lost to San Miguel in the Philippine Cup Finals. The defeat also crushed the Tropang 5G’s last hurdle at completing a historic Grand Slam.
‘Big shift’
A rematch with San Miguel could be a possibility if the Beermen can get past Ginebra in their own series that is deadlocked at 2-2, with Game 5 of that being played at press time.
Ginebra, on the other hand, lost all of its three championship showdowns with TNT in the last three years, and another meeting is not a far-fetched reality.
“We’re not going to focus on what we can’t control,” said Heading. “Obviously, we don’t know who we are playing, so really there’s no point in us giving any energy to that.”
What TNT coach Chot Reyes expects, though, is that either team will pose big problems for his team, which failed to beat the two juggernauts during the eliminations.
Both defeats came in lopsided fashion, with Ginebra battering TNT, 92-77, on Oct. 15 at the Big Dome, and San Miguel prevailing, 110-95, on Dec. 5 at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“It’s going to be a big shift in mindset, because, to be very honest, we were slightly favored to win coming into this series,” said Reyes. “But going into the next series, whether it’s San Miguel or Ginebra, we’re going to be underdogs.
“Obviously, we don’t have their size, their depth, their talent, and the crowd support,” Reyes explained. “But like Jordan said, that’s something we cannot control. Right now, our focus is on rest and recovery.”
The long rest while waiting for the conclusion of the San Miguel-Ginebra series will allow TNT a chance to see if RR Pogoy can heal as fast as possible. Pogoy skipped Game 5 due to a hamstring injury.
