PUSHED against the wall by gritty Meralco, TNT simply refused to wilt that left Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes elated no end last Tuesday night.
“First of all, we expected it. We had no illusions that it was going to be an easy game,” Reyes said. “Even when we were up by 20, we knew Meralco had the capability to come back. In the end, we were able to settle down and not panic even when they grabbed the lead.
“We just stayed within ourselves and in the end, the players made big plays,” he added.
Reyes spoke after his wards carved out a nail-biting 101-99 decision over the Bolts for their third straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Gunner Calvin Oftana said the team worked doubly hard during the holidays to keep their winning run going despite squandering a 23-point lead and rise to 3-2.
“Those breaks naman, we don’t take it as a break lang. Nagpa-pa-condition din kami. Siyempre may liga pa. Trabaho namin iyon and we’re happy na nanalo kami ngayon kasi our first game sobrang on cloud nine pa iyong mga isip namin. At least now, tapos na iyong December,” Oftana said. “Mataas lang kumpiyansa ko, kasi ginagawa ko naman iyon sa training.
“So, I think iyon naman ang sikreto doon and siyempre hindi mawawala iyong coaches, iyong kasama ko, giving me leeway na tumira. Just giving back iyong tiwala nila sa akin.”
The Tropang Giga came off a 109-93 shellacking of the Blackwater Bossing last Dec. 19.
Meralco failed to do an encore to an 88-83 victory over foreign guest team Eastern last Sunday and slipped to 4-3.
Oftana unleashed 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and issued two assists for TNT while two-time best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson also had 24 markers, 13 boards, and five dimes.
Rey Nambatac and Roger Pogoy also had 15 and 12 points, respectively for the Tropang Giga.
With a three-game winning skein, a stern test gnaws at TNT—a duel with red-hot Converge on Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
