By REYNALD MAGALLON
There’s not much to celebrate for TNT and Barangay Ginebra even after completing the first step towards a Finals return by taking Game 1 in their respective semifinals series.
As crucial as it is to get the first win in any best-of-seven affair, both the Tropang Giga and the Kings are refusing to get too carried away by the win as they brace for a huge fightback from their foes in Game 2 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig on Friday, Feb. 28.
Ginebra gave the top seed NorthPort a quick reality check in the series opener, essaying a dominant 115-93 victory.
Kings head coach Tim Cone, however, is urging his wards to quickly forget about the big win and focus on getting a 2-0 series lead at the end of the contest that tips off at 5:00 p.m. and will be followed by the 7:30 p.m. collision between TNT and Rain or Shine.
“They’ll get their game together and they’re going to come back. They’re not the No. 1 seed by chance. They earned it and they deserved it,” Cone ahead of their Game 2 clash.
“They just had a little bit of a letdown tonight. But coach Bonnie Tan has just been tremendous with this team in terms of getting guys to play their role, playing to people’s strengths. Just tonight, we defended well,” he added.
It’s still surprising though how the Kings managed to pull off the big win considering that half of the team was with Gilas Pilipinas during the PBA break.
Troy Rosario was the biggest factor in the contest, finishing 16 points and eight rebounds in the blowout that also gave Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar, national team members who played in the qualifiers, some extra time to rest.
Cone, though, is not expecting the same come Game 2.
“We had a good shooting night tonight, and we defended well. And those are two ingredients that, if you do that, then oftentimes you can win a game big. But it’s hard to do it, and it’s hard to follow up,” he admitted.
The same mentality is what TNT head coach Chot Reyes wants his Tropa to have, especially against a dangerous and potent Rain or Shine team.
“It’s going to be a grind the whole way through. We have no illusions that this will be easy by any means. They’re a very well-balanced, well-constructed, well-coached team,” said Reyes whose team banked on a solid late game defense to pull off an 88-84 escape in Game 1.
“They’re very versatile. They have a great import with them. So, we really have to be at our best. We were fortunate tonight that our defense carried us through but there’s a lot for us to improve going into Game 2,” he added.
