Games on Wednesday(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)5 p.m. – TNT vs NLEX (Quarterfinals Game 1)7:30 p.m. – Magnolia vs Rain or Shine (Quarterfinals Game 1)
GIVEN the different format in play in PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, top-seeded squad TNT of Group A and Rain or Shine (ROS) of Group B aren’t enjoying the usual win-once incentive in the quarterfinal round.
Instead, the defending champion Tropang Giga and the Elasto Painters stand on equal footing with their respective rivals — Group B No. 4 NLEX and Group A No. 3 Magnolia — in a best-of-five quarterfinal series played practically every other day.
Thus, without the built-in advantage of old, gaining the running start in Wednesday’s Last-8 curtain-raiser at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium is doubly important for the two most dominant teams of the previous double round-robin pool play.
TNT shoots for 1-0 against the Road Warriors at 5 p.m. while ROS seeks the same versus the Hotshots at 7:30 p.m.
“We knew from the start that this was going to be the format (three-games-a-week, race-to-three series) and my job is to deliver a team that is as ready and as sharp as possible for this stage of the playoffs,” said Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes.
More than the tight scheduling, the headache to be posed by NLEX, led by Robert Bolick and import DeQuan Jones, is a major concern for Mr. Reyes’ crew of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, RR Pogoy, Jayson Castro, Rey Nambatac and Calvin Oftana.
“They’re going to give us a lot of problems. They have Berto and they have a very good import as well,” noted Mr. Reyes, who himself will be matched up against fellow veteran mentor Jong Uichico.
The Road Warriors have shown their resilience amid adversity in climbing out of a four-game skid and hurdling their closing games of the elims, 104-79 over Phoenix and 103-99 (overtime) over Barangay Ginebra, to catch the last bus to the playoffs.
“What’s good about this team is even if we’re losing games, we don’t start bickering or blaming each other. We’re just sticking together as a team. That’s a positive culture of the team that we are trying to imbibe,” said Mr. Uichico.
The Tropang Giga have depended heavily on their stifling defense in the group stage, allowing opponents only 87 points — a gold standard in the tournament. But Mr. Reyes maintained they have to do better than their conference-low 40% shooting with the stakes higher now.
“Our offensive efficiency has to pick up for the playoffs while at the same time keeping our defensive intensity. Our defense is what has carried us through when our offense has been struggling. So we have to maintain that and improve on the offense.
“But one thing’s for sure: what got us here won’t get us to the next level. So we have to now focus on getting to the next level if we want to go deep in the playoffs,” said Mr. Reyes. — Olmin Leyba
