UNDERMANNED TNT kicks off its campaign in the East Asia Super League Season 2 today when it faces Chiba Jets at the Funabashi Arena in Chiba, Japan.
The Tropang Giga will go into action at 6 p.m. (Manila time) without key players Mikey Williams, Roger Pogoy, Poy Erram, and Calvin Oftana.
Pogoy and Erram are both dealing with health conditions, Williams is still in the United States on an extended vacation, while Oftana has been given a well-deserved rest after playing with Gilas Pilipinas that won the 19th Asian Games gold medal for the first time in more than six decades.
Still, coach Jojo Lastimosa is upbeat about the team’s chances against the B. League runner-up team owing to the presence of imports Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Quincy Miller, both former NBA players.
Hollis-Jefferson led TNT to the Governors’ Cup championship last season where he was adjudged Best Import. Miller previously suited up for Converge during the Commissioner’s Cup.
Veterans Jayson Castro, Kelly Williams, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Carl Bryan Cruz, and newly-acquired Jewel Ponferada, among others, will carry the fight for the team.
“I still have Rondae, Quincy, Jayson, Kelly, and the rest,” said Lastimosa, whose team arrived in Japan on Monday.
“We will fight as hard.”
