By REYNALD MAGALLON
TNT head coach Chot Reyes did not mince words and slammed his team over what he deemed a poor showing in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup debut against Rain or Shine
The Tropang 5G led by as many as 18 points in the first half but just couldn’t keep up with the run-and-gun pace of the Elasto Painters who even survived the ejection of their import to pull off the stunning 112-109 win.
“Sucked like hell. We played a terrible game,” said an obviously frustrated Reyes after coming out of the TNT dugout at the end of the game.
And he has his reasons to be in such a bad mood.
For one, after TNT asserted its size advantage behind its 7-foot-3 import in Bol Bol, the Tropang 5G ended up playing at the pace the Elasto Painters wanted to play.
Reyes’ wards quickly erected a 47-29 advantage in the second quarter but things quickly came crumpling when ROS import Jaylen Johnson proved to be a matchup nightmare for TNT.
Johnson was taking and making triples when defended by Bol and pounding it inside when up against local players. As a result, the ROS import finished with 22 points on four triples and a four at the half.
ROS then only trailed, 54-58.
The Elasto Painters were also too fast for the Tropang 5G. The size advantage with Bol was completely neutralized when ROS began running, punishing TNT’s defense with 15 fastbreak points and 20 points off turnovers.
Reyes, at one point, even had to call a timeout just to keep TNT’s defense in order with Bol, not even coming down to defend.
To be fair, Bol proved to be a legitimate NBA talent with 38 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks. But his ability to defend quicker players was tested — none more evident in the final play where Nocum attacked Bol in isolation, scoring on a layup on his outstretched 7-foot-6 wingspan.
Bol’s ability to knock down free throws was also a suspect, shooting a 7-of-16 clip for 43.8 percent. Making half of those misses could have even won the game for TNT.
Surely, there’s a lot of room for improvement still for Bol and TNT. It was only their first game. But by all indication, their first game loss revealed a chink on the armor of the defending champions.
