DEFENDING champion TNT got the job done against Ginebra in its final game of the eliminations but coach Chot Reyes admitted they still fell short of a lofty goal last Sunday night.
“We wanted to get as many wins as possible. We were really going for 9-2, we felt it was the needed record to get to the top two, but we fell short,” Reyes said.
“We just have to be ready for whoever we have to play in the quarterfinals in the best of three if we don’t get to the top two,” he added.
Reyes spoke after the Tropang Giga manhandled the Kings 106-92 to wind up with an 8-3 card.
The top two teams after the eliminations will be rewarded with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against the seventh and eighth-ranked opponents.
The third to sixth seeds will duel in a best-of-3 series in the quarters.
TNT still has a chance of finishing in the top two but that hinges on the results of the other squads’ campaigns.
Together with lanky big man JP Erram, Reyes left for Jakarta to call the shots for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup.
Roger Pogoy sizzled with a game-high 30 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and issued two assists for TNT, while Mikey Williams chipped in 19 markers on five three-pointers, five boards, and three dimes.
Glenn Khobuntin also had 16 and eight, while Kelly Williams and Kib Montalbo added 12 and 10 points, respectively for the Tropang Giga, who rebounded from a 99-115 loss to San Miguel five days ago.
