Defense does it for undermanned Tropang Giga

MANILA, Philippines -- With TNT dealing with a number of injuries, including on import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, head coach Chot Reyes said the Tropang Giga banked on the team’s defense in Thursday night’s 107-89 win against the Terrafirma Dyip.

TNT played without key cogs Calvin Oftana, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Kelly Williams and Henry Galinato due to injuries.

Hollis-Jefferson, while playing with an ankle injury, paced the Tropang Giga with 26 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal to push TNT to a share of the top spot of Group A along with the Meralco Bolts. The two teams are currently holding 4-1 win-loss records.

Reyes, after the game, said that with injuries affecting their preparations ahead of the Dyip contest, they had to “rely on our ability to make stops and defend.”

“We saw it the first half. We couldn’t stop Terrafirma. We gave up almost 50 points in that first half. Luckily we were able to limit them to about 39, 40 points in the second half but we knew they’re going to come out strong,” the coach said.

“And like Rondae said, I think this ballgame is a testament to the willpower of the players, even with the number of injuries we have,” he added.

The winless Dyip were able to go toe-to-toe with the Tropang Giga through three quarters as they trailed by just five, 80-85, with six minutes remaining.

But the Tropang Giga found their rhythm while being able to stop the Dyip on their tracks as they unleashed a 15-3 run to go up by an insurmountable 17 points, 100-83.

All in all, TNT was able to force 12 turnovers while stealing the ball seven times. The team also swatted four shots.

“We made a conscious effort to focus on defense at the start of the tournament and we’re surviving on our defense. I think we’re last in the league on scoring, in field goal percentage and a lot of the offensive categories but I think we’re leading the league in fewest number of points allowed so that’s how we’ve been surviving and that’s how we’ve come up with this 4-1 record,” Reyes said.

Reyes also tipped his hat to his reserves, who were able to contribute.

“The guys that could play… we got good contributions from guys like Barkley Ebona, Ping Excimiano, CJ Payawal and I thought they played really well off the bench so guys who hardly get minutes, I thought gave us excellent minutes in this ballgame and that’s how we were able to cope and survive this ballgame,” he added.

Excimiano had seven points in almost eight minutes of play. Paywal had three points, while Ebona had two boards.

TNT will kick off the second round of the eliminations with a clash against tormentors Converge FiberXers on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.