TNT Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes during a meeting at a PBA Philippine Cup game. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines – TNT coach Chot Reyes remained cautious about the PBA Philippine Cup playoff run even after defeating Phoenix at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday.
Despite the 108-101 victory over the Fuel Masters, the Tropang Giga are still in the middle of the pack, where no other team has a clear sight of a playoff spot except the undefeated San Miguel.
“Dikit-dikit lahat (everyone neck to neck). Nobody has control of anything now, I think only San Miguel. Other than that, the loss of everyone else means a lot in the scheme of things,” Reyes said.
READ: PBA: TNT recovers from 20 down to beat Phoenix in crucial victory
“It has been very difficult for us. Before on Talk N' Text, after a bad game, we know that certain games are guaranteed wins. That is no longer the case. Every game now, no matter who we play, we know it will be a challenge that will demand our best.”
After TNT's win on Wednesday, Tropang Giga improved to 5-4 in the standings and was momentarily in fifth place. But, as Reyes said, a loss could alter the complexion of the playoff race.
A loss for the TNT side will slide Reyes' charges to 5-5 and create a stalemate for the sixth seed with Terrafirma and Rain or Shine, who hold identical records with Tropang Giga.
The Beermen are the only seed to the quarterfinals so far, with an unscathed 7-0 record.
READ: PBA: TNT ends slide, but Chot Reyes wants to 'fix us first'
Kelly Williams, who had a stellar double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, also acknowledged how TNT, once portrayed as one of the league's giants, is now uncertain about reaching the quarterfinals.
All of this can be attributed to how young the Tropang Giga team is, with the addition of new blood and retirements of old team holdovers.
“In previous teams and groups, we also had difficult conferences. Now we have a lot of young, skilled people who are learning the system and culture of how we manage each other,” Williams said.
“There is a lot of learning and adjustments. Coach is great at being able to pivot and adjust at different times. We're all learning and we have the ability to be where we want to be, but it's just going to take some time… We need to make our biggest moves in these last few games and hopefully make the playoffs,” the veteran big added.
Tropang Giga will have two games remaining in the knockout round, but wins and losses in those bouts would still not determine where they would be with a tight race on their hands.
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TNT hopes to build momentum on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena when they face Converge, who picked up their first victory on Sunday at the expense of Meralco.
