UNLIKE in the past when top seeded teams were armed with a twice-to-beat incentive in the Last Eight, squads which advanced to the first round of the playoffs are on equal footing now.

“They’re going to give us a lot of problems. They have Berto (Robert Bolick) and a very good import (DeQuan Jones) as well,” coach Chot Reyes of defending champion TNT said. “So, we have to be as prepared as possible.

“We have to stay ready and as sharp as possible at this stage (given the three-games-a-week schedules),” he added.

The Tropang Giga launch their drive when they square off with the NLEX Road Warriors today in Game 1 of their best-of-5 quarterfinals duel in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

The match is set at 5 p.m. before Group B pacesetter Rain or Shine tangles with Magnolia also in the opener of their race-to-3 series in the nightcap at 7:30.

Reyes’ charges topped Group A with an 8-2 mark and will go into the duel armed with a 99-79 ripping of the NorthPort Batang Pier last Sunday.

But Reyes insisted that TNT needs to raise its effort a notch higher against the Road Warriors who barely reached the playoffs.

“One thing is for sure – what got us here won’t get us to the next level. So, we have to focus on getting to the next level if we want to go deep in the playoffs,” Reyes said.

Reigning best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Calvin Oftana, Roger Pogoy, Jason Castro, and Kelly Willliams will be counted upon anew by the Tropang Giga to deliver.

“What’s good about this team is even if we’re losing games, we don’t start bickering or blaming each other. We’re just sticking together as a team,” NLEX strategist Jong Uichico said.

“That’s a positive culture of the team that we are trying to imbibe.”

Jones, who replaced Myke Henry, expects his team to have its hands full against TNT.

“They’re an explosive team offensively and they have size, defensively. So, we kind of gotta neutralize it by distributing the ball and sticking to what we do,” Jones said.

“You know they’re going to play their game and we’re going to play ours. So, just sticking to our game plan and you know letting the chips fall where they will.”

Aside from Jones and Bolikc, the Road Warriors will pin their hopes Javee Mocon, Michael Miranda, Baser Amer, and Anthony Semerad after they finished with 5-5 slate in the group phase.

“We will face the No. 1 team with a lot of talents and a very good import,” Hotshots tactician Chito Victolero said. “We’ll just try to be ready. We wanted our players to stay healthy.”

Victolero said it best—grit and health will be among the keys in the playoffs.