Chot Reyes is already digging deep into his bag of tricks. Right after the TNT Tropang 5G sealed their Finals berth on Sunday, the multititled coach immediately branded his team as “huge underdogs” in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel—even though he said he hadn’t thought about it yet.
“We’re coming in as huge underdogs playing the national team. We’re playing Gilas and the reigning GOAT import of the PBA [Justin Brownlee],” Reyes said. “To be honest, we haven’t thought about it at all, I haven’t thought about it at all because I disciplined myself for this game [Game 6 versus Meralco Bolts].”
Reyes then doubled down, telling reporters during the pre-Finals presser at the Novotel Manila Araneta City on Monday that TNT’s only chance is playing its best.
“My only objective is to be able to play at a high level. Because that’s the only way we can compete. If we play our best, we give ourselves a chance. But if we do not play our best, we have no chance,” he explained. “Even if we play our best, it’s still a 50-50, but at least we have a chance.”
Is TNT Really a Huge Underdog?
There may be some truth that the Tropa are underdogs. After all, it is true Ginebra has several Gilas Pilipinas players—Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, RJ Abarrientos, Troy Rosario (Gilas pool), and Japeth Aguilar (retired from national team duties). It is also true that some view JB as the GOAT import of the PBA.
However, claiming that TNT are “huge underdogs” might be pushing it too far. Reyes himself has at his disposal several players with national team experience—Calvin Oftana is a vital cog in Tim Cone’s Gilas, while RR Pogoy, Jordan Heading, and Jayson Castro were once Gilas Pilipinas mainstays. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser won a gold with the national team in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia, while Kelly Williams represented the Philippines many times in international competition in his prime.
Even Reyes’s import, Chris McCullough, is plenty good himself—a 6-foot-10 three-level scorer who has already shown he can lead a PBA team—the San Miguel Beermen in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup—to the promised land.
That only goes to show TNT is not wanting in talent. In fact, a case can be made that talent-for-talent, the Tropa and Gin Kings are far more equal than Reyes would like to admit.
TNT Has Ginebra’s Number
Then, there’s this one simple fact: TNT has owned Ginebra lately. In fact, the last three times these teams have met for the championship, the Tropa are 3-0, with two of those victories accomplished in six games.
The import situation is obviously different—something Reyes pointed out as well—but the TNT core that thrice bested Ginebra for the title is more or less the same. This knowledge that they have beaten the crowd darlings will no doubt galvanize the Tropa and give them extra confidence that they can do it again.
Finally, recent form suggests that Reyes’s wards are finally playing TNT basketball. Pogoy is playing some of his best basketball and taking everyone at the post. Heading has exploded with CMac in tow. Oftana is starting to percolate, and Castro is showing he’s got some gas left in that 39-year-old body of his.
Verdict
All things considered, it might not be accurate to call TNT “heavy underdogs” despite them entering as the eighth seed. That incarnation of the Tropa—the one that finished No. 8 in the eliminations—is long gone, seemingly replaced by the real TNT: on-point on defense and explosive on offense.
And even with Brownlee and Abarrientos doing their Batman-and-Robin thing for Ginebra, the Tropa can counter with Heading’s playmaking, Pogoy’s relentless post-ups, Oftana’s shooting, McCullough’s three-level scoring, BGR’s two-way ferocity, and Castro’s savvy shot creation.
But Reyes is right. TNT will have to play their best. But so will Ginebra, for that matter.
