Game 5 vs Rain or Shine — not finals — on TNT’s mind, Chot insists

MANILA, Philippines — Returning to the finals is the farthest from the minds of the TNT Tropang Giga, head coach Chot Reyes said, despite them being one win away from the championship round. 

Reyes and TNT secured a crucial Game 4 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Wednesday, 81-79, to go up 3-1 in their best-of-seven PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series.

It was a low-scoring game that went down the wire, with a late dunk by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with about 37 ticks remaining spelling the difference.

After the game, Reyes said that the focus of the defending champions is the closeout Game 5. 

“Well, that's farthest from our minds right now. Our only thought is the preparation for the next game, for Game 5,” he told reporters. 

“It's just really going to boil down to who wants it more. Hopefully on Friday, we come back with the same kind of hunger and edge on Game 5,” he added.

Reyes also lauded his team for fighting hard and keeping their composure despite a “great game plan” from the Elasto Painters. 

“Rain or Shine came up with a great game plan today. But I thought my players really fought hard, buckled down. I give a lot of credit to the extra effort that they put in,” he stressed.

“In the end, they know what we want to do. We know what they want to do. It's just really going to boil down to who wants it more.” 

Hollis-Jefferson paced the Tropang Giga with 23 points, 19 rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks. 

The import said that his mindset on Wednesday was just to grab the win. 

“At the end of the day, it's basketball. You're going to make some, you're going to miss some. But my mindset was just securing the win today. And that's what happened. I wanted to make sure that we came out with the win, that we secured a score, we secured a stop. And that's what happened,” he emphasized. 

He also tipped his hat to his teammates for making the big plays. 

“At the end of the day, you got to give credit to our team. It was a team effort. It wasn't me just out there rebounding.  It wasn't me just out there scoring. So if you don't have to worry about those guys making big shots, then I don't get the chance to get downhill and get that done.” 

TNT will have the chance to punch the first ticket to the PBA Finals on Friday.