The adage a win is a win certainly applies to the TNT Tropang 5G’s uneven 106-103 win over the winless Macau Giant Pandas to open their PBA Governors’ Cup title defense.
That’s because the Tropa nearly squandered a 101-83 cushion down the stretch, outscored by the Giant Pandas, 20-5, in a frantic, scattered endgame. The game’s final five minutes were marked by four TNT misses, five turnovers, and missed assignments and box-outs.
Chot Reyes was naturally unhappy. He wasn’t surprised, though.
Unsatisfied and Unsurprised
After the game, Reyes acknowledged that he wasn’t happy with the way TNT ended the game, even if they pulled it out in the end. At the same time, he admitted he more or less expected these kinds of struggles.
“Obviously, you can’t be satisfied with an ending like that, but at the same time we knew we were going to struggle,” Reyes told reporters in the postgame presser. “Number one, we lack players. We’ve got three starters who are not playing. And number two, this is our first tune-up game. We weren’t able to tune up in the offseason because we opted to rest, recover.”
And it’s not as if TNT had a choice. Coming off five straight PBA Finals, the Tropa were naturally banged up, with starters Calvin Oftana (calf), Jayson Castro (knee), and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (ankle) all still recovering from injuries. Jordan Heading, apparently, is also nursing back spasms—something he has dealt with intermittently ever since he landed with TNT.
“This is the first time that we’ve played with our import [Darius Days] in an actual game. As you can see, there’s a lot to work on…,” Reyes noted. “I told the players before the game, we’re a work in progress, but if we focus on the right things, just make sure that we put in some effort and focus on our defense, then we should be fine.”
TNT’s Continuing Challenge
Unfortunately for TNT, reinforcements might not be on the way yet. According to Reyes, Oftana, Castro, and BGR could miss up to three more games, while Kelly Williams remains out indefinitely as he is attending to a personal matter. Heading, meanwhile, continues to be less than 100% with back spasms.
But, if it is any consolation, the Tropa’s next game will be against another winless team in the Titan Ultra Giant Risers. And it is certainly a winnable game that could buy TNT some more time.
At least until reinforcements arrive.
