The TNT Tropang 5G played off their Grand Slam bid in the season-ending Philippine Cup of PBA Season 49, with Chot Reyes repeatedly emphasizing that the team was taking things one day at a time. Now, one of the team’s leaders in RR Pogoy has acknowledged that winning the Grand Slam was, indeed, the dream last season—and that not getting it was a wasted opportunity.
And, it turns out, that foiled Grand Slam bid might just be the fuel TNT needs to complete the job in Season 50.
“Last conference, konti na lang, Grand Slam sana. Pero another opportunity this coming season. Ayun, babawi this coming All-Filipino,” Pogoy told the PBA on Thursday during Day 1 of the league’s annual media day. “Hindi naman gigil, pero may motivation. Kasi pag mag-gigil baka mawala ka sa ano (rhythm). So, dagdag motivation lang na yung hindi namin nakuha ‘yung dream sana namin, ng lahat ng players, coaches, pati owner, na mag-Grand Slam. Sayang lang na hindi nakuha, konti na lang sana pero ayun nga, another opportunity this coming season.”
TNT won the season-opening Governors’ Cup last year and then added the Commissioner’s Cup title to set the stage for a possible Grand Slam. The San Miguel Beermen, though, would have none of it as they put an end to the Tropa’s ambitious bid with an emphatic 4-2 victory in the Philippine Cup Finals.
TNT a Bigger Target Than Ever Now, Says Chot Reyes
As TNT’s dream remains unchanged, coach Chot Reyes is hoping to start the season off strong by doing what the Tropa failed to do in last season’s closing conference: win the Philippine Cup crown.
But Reyes knows things will be a lot more challenging this time around with the league’s elite—San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel—keeping their core and the other teams, like the Converge FiberXers and Magnolia Hotshots, getting better in the offseason.
“We are by no means satisfied with how we finished the season (though) and we hope to be able to improve on our last All-Filipino placing,” Reyes said, also during media day. “But it’s going to be very, very difficult. The other teams have beefed up and we’re surely going to have a huge target on our backs. So we have to be ready.”
The Tropa are getting ready all right, so much so that they appear to have eschewed the traditional preseason games against their PBA brethren and will instead join a pocket tournament in Dubai against the region’s powerhouse clubs.
