DESPITE winning their last two outings, TNT coach Chot Reyes maintained there is a lot to be desired on his charges’ game in the import-spiced tilt.
“We had a good first quarter but had a bad second quarter. We lost the second quarter by 16 points to a team without an import and that does not speak well of us,” Reyes said after the Tropang Giga ripped Rain or Shine 110-91 four days ago.
“It’s a perfect reflection of where we are right now as a team. We need to play a full 48 minutes and we’re not there yet,” he added.
TNT seeks a third straight victory and boost its hold of solo third when it battles NLEX today in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The match is set at 5:45 p.m. after Phoenix tries to extend its winning run to three when it faces struggling Meralco in the curtain-raiser at 3 o‘clock.
The likes of import Cameron Oliver, Mikey Williams, Jayson Castro, Roger Pogoy, and Calvin Oftana will be counted upon by the Tropang Giga in their bid to hike their 2-1 mark.
The Road Warriors are aching to avenge a 97-111 loss to Magnolia last Wednesday, their second defeat in a row, after a 2-0 start.
NLEX will pin its hopes on reinforcement Earl Clark, Don Trollano, Kevin Alas, Justin Chua, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
After dropping their first three assignments, the Fuel Masters have notched two straight triumphs, counting a 101-93 stunner over Ginebra last Friday amid rumors that the Dennis Uy-owned ballclub is up for sale.
“It’s gonna be fun for us. We took out ‘easy’ from our vocabulary because, again, it’s not something that’s gonna help us at this point, with everything that’s happening around us,” Phoenix tactician Topex Robinson said. “So, we just embrace hard and try to get better at handling ‘hard.”
Import Kaleb Wesson, Tyler Tio, Javee Mocon, Sean Anthony, and Encho Serrano will spearhead the Fuel Masters’ charge to improve to 3-3.
Carrying a 1-3 slate, the Bolts are hard-pressed to bounce back from a sorry 99-106 setback at the hands of Converge four days ago.
Meralco will rely on import Johnny O’Bryant, Aaron Black, Allein Maliksi, Cliff Hodge, Bong Quinto, and Raymond Almazan in its bid to bounce back.
