By REYNALD MAGALLON
With a three-week break looming, perennial semifinalists TNT and Rain or Shine are determined to close the first half of their schedules on a high note as they lock horns on the road in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro, Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Tropang 5G (5-1) gun for a solo lead while the Elasto Painters (5-2) aim to strengthen its hold of a Top 4 spot just before the league pauses and gives way to the Gilas Pilipinas preparations for the first window of the FIBA 2027 World Cup qualifiers.
Tip-off of the clash is at 7:30 p.m.
Having its supposed marquee duel with Magnolia postponed last Sunday, Nov. 9 due to typhoon Uwan, TNT had a week-long rest to get itself together following two close encounters against Terrafirma and Meralco.
On both occasions, though the Tropang 5G came out victorious, TNT head coach Chot Reyes was left searching for answers to the flat starts that have been slowing down the team – something that they cannot afford against an offensive-minded team like Rain or Shine.
“We have to figure out ways to be more efficient. And that was the thing that we wrote on our board. We wanted to play this game with very high efficiency. Unfortunately, we did not,” Reyes said after TNT barely survived cellar-dwelling Terrafirma in overtime last game.
Coming off a vintage performance in that game, Kelly Williams is expected to once again provide the poise and veteran presence for TNT which will have guys like Calvin Oftana and RR Pogoy forming a double-barrel gun for the Tropang 5G.
Then, there’s also Jio Jalalon who is seemingly getting a second wind on PBA career with stellar performances for TNT along with guys like Rey Nambatac, Jordan Heading and the returning Poy Erram.
As for the part of ROS, surviving TNT in CdO despite a depleted frontline would be huge especially since the three-week break would give injured players Caelan Tiongson, Stanley Pringle and Luis Villegas some more time to recover.
Tasked to hold the fort for the Elasto Painters are Gabe Norwood and Leonard Santillan although they are getting some help with the team finally signing rookie big man Christian Manaytay.
Picking up the pace with guys like Adrian Nocum, Jhonard Clarito, Gian Mamuyac, Anton Asistio and Andrei Caracut should also be beneficial for ROS especially with TNT holding on its size advantage.
