By REYNALD MAGALLON
Will history repeat itself? Or will a new dynasty rise?
TNT is not only taking on its biggest challenge to its Grand Slam bid, but also facing up against the ghost of the past when it battles San Miguel in the best-of seven PBA Philippine Cup Finals which will fire off on Sunday, July 13, at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang 5G are now four wins away from a treble of championships in the 49th season as they reached the Finals for the third straight conference after reigning supreme in the Commissioner\’s Cup and Governors\’ Cup both at the expense of the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
But standing on their way this time is no ordinary team as the Beermen have long established themselves as the rulers of the Philippine Cup.
Save for three seasons where SMB failed to claim the prestigious Jun Bernardino trophy, the proud franchise have won six of the last nine All-Filipino titles – one of which also came at the expense of a Reyes-led TNT.
TNT, for its part, is looking to complete its unfinished business in 2011 when the SMB franchise denied TNT in its first try at winning the Grand Slam.
But it’s an entirely different story right now especially with the Tropang 5G powering through every adversity thrown at them just to put themselves in the position to go for a triple crown.
TNT was without the Finals MVPs of their two championships in Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac. They were also put to a twice-to-win disadvantage in the quarterfinals and then overcame a hard-fighting Rain or Shine in the semis despite missing RR Pogoy and Kelly Williams in the process.
“The adversity that we went through is really a testament to the fighting spirit of the players,” said Reyes during the Finals press conference at the Chardonnay by Astoria in Pasig City on Friday, July 11.
“They just refused to give up. Ayaw talaga bumigay. Maski na pwede na we could have called it a day. And no one would take anything away from us, we won the last two championships. So even if we had given up, okay na rin dyan. But they kept fighting,” he added.
PBA chairman and TNT governor Ricky Vargas also shared the same sentiments, lauding the Tropang 5G for their camaraderie through all of the adversities.
“We have a team that genuinely cares for each other. It’s a team without a second team; it’s just a group of players who are ready to give their all and perform at their best,“ said Vargas.
Vargas also expects a tough grind against the powerhouse Beermen in a series that will surely thrill PBA fans.
“We’re up against the Number one all-Filipino team SMC, and we’ll take it a game at a time,” he said.
“Every PBA Finals is special, and this one is no exception. We expect to witness basketball at its finest as two of the finest franchises, SMC and TNT, battle it out for the championship.”
While being tagged as the Grand Slam stopper to TNT’s bid, San Miguel insisted that it is coming into the series with its own motivations – especially after losing its last PH Cup Finals series against Meralco last season and failing to reach the playoffs in this season’s Commissioners’ Cup.
“They won two championships in the last two conferences. And that experience is really something they can dwell on. But our team wants to redeem ourselves, especially in the last conference,” said Austria.
“TNT have been together for a while in the last two conferences, that’s an experience for them, especially since they\’re coming for a special reward. But we’re here not to stop their ambition. We’re here to win games and eventually win the championship,” he stressed.
