THIS Big Dance is devoid of the usual animosity among the protagonists. Even TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa, in his first finals stint, likened it to a homecoming.
“To be honest, I’m seeing myself going up with Alaska with Tim (Cone) on my side. I’m always comfortable with him,” Lastimosa said. “We’ve been together as a player and as a coach. It’s like coming home. I’m comfortable being with Tim. As you can see, there is no animosity between the two of us.
“I’m just excited to be on the same floor with him. Again, so much respect because he has done so much for the game so I’m just here to learn,” he added.
Lastimosa spoke yesterday during the finals press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta City that served as the opening salvo in the title battle for the pro league’s Third Conference crown.
The opener of the race-to-4 series is set on Easter Sunday, April 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with both teams keen on gaining a head start.
Lastimosa, who took over at the helm of Tropang Giga after tactician Chot Reyes opted to focus on his Gilas Pilipinas duties, guided TNT to a 10-1 mark after the eliminations for the No. 1 seed.
The Tropang Giga hurdled Meralco 3-1 in their best-of-5 semifinals clash to forge a titanic duel with the Kings.
Lastimosa won nine of his 10 pro league titles under Cone with Alaska and also served as an assistant of Cone with the Aces, which serves as an interesting subplot– if not a highlight– in their battle of wits.
TNT governor and PBA chairman Ricky Vargas maintained the Tropang Giga have what it takes.
“Ginebra is the best team in the league, but we are the best team in this conference. We were No. 1 so it’s not true that we think we are the underdogs,” he said.
“We are the hound dogs. We’ll see to it that we will match their energy. With due respect to the best basketball mind and manager of this league, (Ginebra governor) Al Chua, this team will be very competitive in this series.”
