The TNT Tropang 5G secured one of the four coveted twice-to-beat incentives in this PBA Philippine Cup with a hard-earned 94–83 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots on Sunday. Incidentally, they will be facing the very same team they beat in the quarterfinals. Only this time, the Tropa need just one win to advance to another semis stint and send the Hotshots home in the process.
Not that Jordan Heading and the rest of the Tropa care much about the twice-to-beat edge they have earned. For last season’s Philippine Cup runners-up, that quarterfinals showdown is all about winning the next game.
“Essentially, we’re just looking forward to the next game ahead, and it happens that if we win that, we go to the semis,” Heading told reporters after TNT’s win over Magnolia. “But we’d be going into it the same way if we didn’t have that twice-to-beat. I mean, the next game is the most important game, no matter what situation you’re in.”
TNT, of course, are in a much more favorable position after winning 8 of their 11 games in the eliminations, including Sunday’s showdown against Magnolia.
TNT’s One-Game-at-a-Time Approach
Curiously, Heading is preaching the same one-game-at-a-time mantra TNT coach Chot Reyes has been emphasizing since Season 49, when the Tropa won the title in two of the three conferences. A season later, it appears that same mindset will be guiding Heading and company.
“That’s just how it is. We’re not looking at it as a twice-to-beat. We’re just looking at it as a one to win,” Heading added.
Sunday’s commanding win notwithstanding, that one to win likely will not come easy—not against a talented and deep team like the Hotshots. These same Hotshots are also hungry for payback after TNT sent them packing in the last PBA Philippine Cup, even with that coveted twice-to-beat edge.
But expect TNT to be ready for that one game.
