Tropang 5G handle Bossing easily to inch closer to playoff bonus
All TNT wants for Christmas is a chance to have a twice-to-beat advantage in the first round of the PBA Philippine Cup Playoffs.
The Tropang 5G then worked for that on Friday by destroying Blackwater, 113-96, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium for the inside track to the third twice-to-beat privilege with a game left in their schedule.
Calvin Oftana, fresh off a hamstring injury and all, scored 25 points in 24 minutes and he coming into full physical capability this late in the eliminations certainly helps the Tropang 5G a great stead.
“That would be such a nice gift,” Oftana told the Inquirer, referring to the playoff shield in the quarterfinals, where teams who finish in the top four would need to win just once against lower-ranked teams. “If we get that advantage, it’ll be nice because last conference, we didn’t have that.
“That won’t happen easily, though. We know we have to work on it and it won’t be given to us that easily,” he said. “Hopefully, we improve our game so we can get that (Christmas) present.”
Crucial Sunday
TNT improved to a 7-3 card and can get that bonus on Sunday when it battles Magnolia.
Oftana drained six triples and he got a lot of help from Roger Pogoy and Henry Galinato, who finished with 18 and 14 points, respectively.
Despite the 48-minute domination of the Bossing, however, coach Chot Reyes knows they have to do more to claim the playoff privilege.
“We talked about this after the last games, we knew that we had to win our last two games and to do that we have to start by winning this one,” Reyes said.
“We had full focus on playing defense, because I know it’ll be tested against Magnolia in two days,” Reyes explained. “We basically wanted to get to a certain level where we’d be good enough to compete against them (Hotshots) on Sunday.”
Troy Mallillin led Blackwater with 20 points, with Sedrick Barefield and Christian David shooting 13.
But their efforts still weren’t enough to help the pathetic Bossing close out their latest campaign with a win and take the door with a 1-10 record.
