Coming into their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series against the Magnolia Hotshots, the TNT Tropang 5G were the third-best defensive team in the league, giving up just 99.2 points per game. Just in front of them were Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at second (94.4 PPG) and Magnolia at first (94.2).
Two games into the quarterfinals, TNT is looking like the best, most fearsome, most unforgiving defensive unit in the playoffs, holding Magnolia to 71.5 points per game—70 in its Game 1 triumph and 73 in its commanding 91-73 Game 2 win on Tuesday.
Chot Reyes Emphasizes Defense at TNT
That TNT is stifling Magnolia to historic levels shouldn’t be a surprise. Chot Reyes has instilled a defensive identity in this Tropang 5G squad, and it is something he believes strongly in—especially now that his team is one win away from yet another semis stint. It is also why he can live with his gunners misfiring in a game or three if the trade-off is them playing exceptional defense, the TNT way.
“Our shooters, Roger [Pogoy], Calvin [Oftana], and Jordan [Heading] were 1 out of 10 combined from the three-point line [in Game 2]. But it’s also understandable to the extent that they expend so much energy on defense,” Reyes pointed out in the aftermath of Game 2. “Roger and Calvin were alternating on [KJ] Buffen, and then Jordan and Rey [Nambatac] were on [Jerom] Lastimosa. So, there’s a give-and-take in that situation.”
Reyes was referring to his top four local scorers combining for just 26 points in Game 2 on 9-for-28 shooting overall. But even with their struggles, they made up for it, as Reyes correctly noted, with some strong defense, with Oftana and Pogoy largely keeping Buffen’s production to acceptable levels and Heading and Nambatac limiting Lastimosa to 4 points in the second half after scoring 9 in the first.
Defense Comes First at TNT
That, too, is precisely the trade-off Reyes was alluding to. Playing the TNT brand of defense can be taxing, and it could take away from the offensive side of things. Reyes, it turns out, will take it as long as his players put in the work on the other side of the ball.
“For us, if there is one element where they need to be able to expend more energy, we’d rather they defend better than they shoot the ball,” Reyes added. “Because if we defend, then we give ourselves better, more opportunities to score…”
Such was the case in Game 2. The Tropa’s big guns went silent, all right, but they defended the TNT way. And, in the end, the offense—a lot of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson imposing his will—still did more than enough to give the Tropang 5G the win.
That’s the kind of defense Reyes wants. It’s the kind of defense he demands.
