TNT coach Chot Reyes sketched the outline and his charges firmed up the lines and did the coloring.
Now, Reyes and the Tropang Giga want to apply the finishing touches in their PBA Philippine Cup dream picture when they face early finalist Magnolia in the title series.
TNT made it to the championship series after humbling San Miguel Beer 97-79 in the seventh and deciding game of their semifinals duel last Sunday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga, a feat that Reyes said he rather expected but also came as a surprise.
“Yes, because I really didn’t expect that we would get through this series. Not because I did not have faith in my team, but because we didn’t have all our players. So, in that sense, yes,” explained Reyes.
“We told the players before the game that if you had told me before the series that we’re going to play this series the first four games without our starting center (Kelly Williams) and then we’re going to play the last few games with our backup center (Poy Erram) with a fractured (cheek) bone and then we’re going to be 3-3 after six games, then we’ll be very, very happy,” added Reyes.
“I thought that was the most important thing, our frame of mind coming into this ballgame.
I said let’s look forward to this game. Let’s not dread going into Game 7. Let’s be excited.
Let’s look forward because we’re so fortunate, we’re so blessed, to be even in this position.
I think that’s the most important thing when we shifted that thinking and the players bought into it and believed that.
“They came in with great resolve. My job was simply to do that. All the rest, they did it.
They put in all the effort, they’re the ones who executed, made the shots, made the defensive stops.”
Reyes brushed off Magnolia coach Chito Victolero’s assertion that the Hotshots are the underdogs in the best-of-seven series starting this Wednesday.
“I don’t think at this point, anyone of you are going to believe everything that the coaches will say. You take it with a grain of salt,” said Reyes. “There is a reason they are in the finals. Any finals, any competition, that’s why we love sports, you will never know.”
Reyes said both teams have equal chances of winning, especially given the way Victolero has been coaching and leading the squad.
“The fact that we are playing, we always have a 50-50 chance. That’s the same in the finals,” Reyes said. “(Victolero) has done an excellent job with his team. Right now, we just have to focus on what we need to do as a team.”
Reyes, however, was also not surprised with his team making it through. After all, that was the goal he set right when he got to gather his team together.
“No, because in our very, very first team meeting, when we were going through all our team development stuff, pre-season and all that, we had pictured ourselves already here, in the Finals,” Reyes said.
“And I say that with all humility because if you want to get to a certain place, you have to see yourself there first, right? It’s hard to get to someplace if you don’t see where you’re going,” he added. “So, we had to paint this picture for the players to see it clearly. And then, I said, ‘Okay, now you can see the picture. Now, what do we need to do to get there?’
So, in that sense, no, because we saw this before.”
Envisioning the task and finishing it are two different things, however, as Reyes himself admitted.
“There’s a feeling of relief, for certain, that we got by such a huge, strong team like San Miguel. But there’s also the feeling of, you know, that we are still far from over, that the job is only half done,” said Reyes.
“But at least we got there. Now we got to figure out how to play and compete against this tough Magnolia squad.”
