Time bought
There’s some sense of relief for TNT after a six-game conquest of Rain or Shine enabled the Tropang 5G to get some extended rest before going for a crack at the Grand Slam against either Barangay Ginebra or the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
“Medyo bugbog na. Gamot na lang yung lumalaban (We’re all banged up. Medicines are all that’s keeping us fighting),” Calvin Oftana said after Sunday’s 97-89 victory in Sunday’s semifinal clincher at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Oftana is one of the main players either sitting out or playing through injuries, not just in the course of the playoffs, but throughout the all-Filipino conference that saw TNT emerge from a gloomy 0-3 start and move within one final hurdle to completing a historic sweep of Season 49.
TNT beat Rain or Shine even with RR Pogoy (hamstring) and Kelly Williams (ankle) playing the role of cheerleaders. Coach Chot Reyes said the two are day-to-day before the Finals get going on July 13.
Oftana also tweaked his ankle earlier in the semifinals, second-stringer Brian Heruela missed the early part of the series due to the same injury sustained in the quarters against Magnolia while Jordan Heading is battling a bad back despite showing a semblance of his true form in Game 6.
“Hopefully, whoever we face [in the Finals], we can play [in an] orderly [manner],” said Reyes.
Ginebra and San Miguel meet one more time on Wednesday at the Big Dome for the right to play TNT after LA Tenorio’s dramatic three forced a deciding Game 7 in the other semis playoff.
Another win by the Gin Kings and they get to face TNT anew in the Finals, with Ginebra looking to be third time lucky after losing both times this season to the Tropang 5G.
The Tropang 5G prevented the Elasto Painters from replicating the same scenario, needing a decisive stretch late in the fourth, with Heading as the lead guy.
Heading dropped 29 points with three rebounds, four assists and two steals, playing as if the back spasms that sidelined him prior to his arrival at TNT camp from Converge during the eliminations.
“It’s good enough,” Heading said with a smile when asked of his condition. Reyes later added that Heading responded with “f*ck that” when asked if he would like to opt for a brief rest in the semis.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Glenn Khobuntin and Kim Aurin, who continued to respond after getting an earful from Reyes in Game 3, also delivered for the Tropang 5G in Game 6 along with Heruela. If they could sustain their timely contributions in the Finals, that may bode well for TNT.
But seeing Pogoy and Williams in the Finals will be doubly crucial as well for the Tropang 5G, which is why the long break is a welcome development.
“I may have forced myself to play if the series came to a Game 7,” Pogoy said in Filipino. “That’s why when we found out that Game 1 would be played on Sunday, I prayed feverishly that our team would win so we could rest for a week.”
As for his return? Pogoy, who said that his injury has improved and has already joined shooting drills in practice, was noncommittal.
“We’ll see,” he added.
