GAME WEDNESDAY
(PhilSports Arena, Pasig)
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs. Ginebra
TNT’s bid for a second straight title boils down to one of sports’ greatest lessons—do not let your guard down.
That’s the mindset Tropang Giga star import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson wants his teammates to adapt as they try to dump the Ginebra Kings into a bigger hole in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals battle.
“Now it’s about doing what we have to do to be better,” Hollis-Jefferson said after his side’s 95-89 victory in the Big Dance opener last Friday night. “To not let the lead drop, to not let our mental lapses take over the game.
“So it’s about getting better,” he added.
Holding a 1-0 lead in the race-to-4 series, TNT tangled with Ginebra anew in Game 2, which was being played at press time last night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, with the Chot Reyes-mentored Tropang Giga seeking a 2-0 edge.
Kings’ strategist Tim Cone admitted the next best thing for his wards is simply to move forward.
“It’s not what we wanted, but we’ll deal with it and we’ll move forward,” Cone said.
For Reyes, sustaining two key aspects of their game—effort and defense—should make them look good.
“It’s all effort. Defense is really, first of all, we have a scheme, we have a game plan,” Reyes said. “But in the end, no matter what game plan we draw up, if the guys aren’t executing and putting in the effort, it’s going to not mean anything.
“So, I thought that was important.”
Hollis-Jefferson and the rest of TNT are ready for an expected Kings fightback.
“I’ll say the good thing about it is it’s two-sided. We’re thinking the same way. We want to win every game, we want to compete at the highest level,” the two-time best import said. “If we were in their situation (trailing big), I’m pretty sure our guys would fight back.
“At the end of the day, you want to be able to believe in your guys to never give up and to keep going until the end of the game.”
The final buzzer in the second tiff sounded last night with most true-blue pro league fans expecting results that will favor their bets: a 2-0 count or back to square one.
