THE TNT Tropang Giga translated their belief into play and got handsomely rewarded against San Miguel Beer at the start of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals duel last Sunday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Tropa edged the Beermen 89-88 to gain the headstart in their best-of-seven series, doing so despite the absence of starting big man Kelly Williams who was undergoing health and safety protocols.
“I think the key was us believing that we could win despite the absence of Kelly,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said.
“You know how big Kelly plays here,” added Reyes. “But for us, the most important thing is to believe that we can win. The guys believed and it showed in the way they played.”
Where to get Williams’ average of 6.6 ppg was not really a problem. Of bigger concern for Reyes before the match was who could make up for the 6.6 rebounds and intimidating inside defense the former MVP usually provides.
“There’s no one person who can fill the shoes of Kelly Williams, those are such big shoes,” said Reyes. “But every guy does a little bit extra, like Roger (Pogoy) did a little bit extra in rebounding, in defending inside.
“And then, of course, the bulk falls on Poy Erram, Dave Marcelo and Troy (Rosario). It was a hell of an effort, superhuman effort, by our bigs in the absence of our starting big man.”
Pogoy shone the brightest, not only scoring a team-high 23 points but also playing excellent defense on a driving Marcio Lassiter in the dying seconds that prevented the latter from getting a clear shot at the basket and stealing the game for SMB.
“San Miguel can beat you in so many number of ways. It can be ball screen, last-second shot, it can be isolation, it can be repost,” Reyes said. “So, we just said, we play our straight-up defense as best we can and, you know, see what happens.
“And I just told them, challenge whatever shot it is, let’s not foul and then it’s important to get five guys to rebound because this is the deepest, most talented team in the league,” added Reyes.
The main focus of TNT’s defense was SMB prized center June Mar Fajardo, and it showed.
The 6-foot-10 behemoth still notched 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds but was harassed into committing six of the Beermen’s total 23 turnovers.
“No one can stop June Mar,” said Reyes. “The best we could do is just stay and try and contain him, do our best and see what happens.”
SMB flashed its usual lethal form when it fought back from a 65-77 deficit, coming to within a solitary point after CJ Perez laid in a fastbreak pass from Chris Ross, 36.2 seconds to go.
The Beermen got the chance to win after Pogoy missed a three-pointer and coach Leo Austria called time in the last nine seconds to draw up their last thrust, which would ultimately prove futile.
“Siguro ano na rin, fatigue factor na rin sa amin,” offered Pogoy in partly explaining why TNT almost blew it. “But credit sa team namin kasi hindi kami bumitaw, lalo na sa depensa namin.”
This is still no time for TNT to let up, insisted Pogoy. “Kailangan namin A-game talaga namin, pinaka-the best na game namin kung gusto namin talunin ‘yung San Miguel,” he said.
“Minsan nga daw, sabi ni Coach Chot, matatalo pa rin kami kahit binigay namin ‘yung A-game namin,” added Pogoy. “At least binibigyan namin ng chance ‘yung sarili namin.”
