PBA Finals: Chot disregards TNT's past matchups vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines -- Forget the past and focus on the present.

This is how TNT Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes will approach their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven finals series against Barangay Ginebra, which will tip off this Sunday.

Reyes and the Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone are currently holding a tied 3-3 head-to-head record in the PBA Finals against each other.

But that is now out the window, Reyes said.

“With regards to this finals, I don't look at the trends, I don't look at the past. For me, it's just about what's in front of me right now, the present,” he told reporters during the PBA Finals press conference at the Enderun Colleges in Taguig City.

“Just very, very happy to be here, playing against a tough team, an excellent coach, and I think in the end, magkakatalo yan sa, you know, how the players execute, and the team that's able to exert their own style, and their style of play, and their will on the basketball court,” he added.

“So, I know there's a lot of talk about me and Tim, but I'm sure he will agree in the end, the players are going to determine this.”

The two coaches have a history together, with both having won championships over the other previously.

Cone also replaced Reyes as Gilas head coach last year.

This is the first time the two will face each other in a finals series since the 2012 Commissioners’ Cup, when Cone, then the head coach of the B-Meg Llamados, defeated Reyes’ TNT squad in seven games.

Cone, for his part, said that it is “almost like a do-or-die” for Ginebra as they go into deep waters in the conference.

“I always believe that if you work so hard to get to this point, and now it's, you know, it's almost like a do-or-die, and, it's going to be really disappointing for us as an organization if we don't win this after getting this far,” he said.

“If we do win it, we're going to be really ecstatic to win it, so, that's just kind of where we are right now, and I think our players are ready, and I'm sure that TNT is ready, and it's kind of like, you know, can't wait to get it on,” he added.

The coach with the most titles in PBA history also stressed that the week-long break of both teams gave them extra time to prepare.

“I think it's been good for us and for TNT, you know, we're going to be refreshed, we're going to have extra time to prepare, and that should lift the level of the players once the series starts, and I think that's been a really good development, having this break, and having this time to recover, I think we're going to see real high-level basketball when the finals starts.”

This is the first time the two teams will face each other this conference. 

TNT (8-2) finished on top of Group A after the eliminations, while the Gin Kings (6-4) ended up third in Group B play. 

Game 1 of the finals will be on Sunday, 7:30 p.m., at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.