TNT's Chot wary of 'very different' Ginebra squad

MANILA, Philippines -- With a colossal matchup against Barangay Ginebra coming up, TNT Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes underscored that they have to play better than they did in Wednesday’s win against NLEX to stand a chance against the Gin Kings.

Ginebra and TNT will face off on Friday in a marquee matchup featuring the two heavyweights.

Reyes and TNT held on and won over NLEX on Wednesday evening, 94-87, to win their fifth straight game in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Despite this, the seasoned coach stressed that they need to polish their game as they face a Ginebra squad bent on securing a quarterfinal berth.

“Huge game for us. But the one thing I'm sure of is if we play this way on Friday, we cannot win. We have to play a lot better than we played tonight,” Reyes told reporters.

During the game, TNT made just 33 of their 87 field goals, good for 37.9%.

They also made just 14 of their 26 free throws.

“The problem is we have one day off. We'll basically walk through stuff tomorrow at practice, talk about Ginebra. And they're going to be pretty well rested coming into tomorrow. But that's a good challenge. It's a good challenge for us to have,” he said.

“Like I said, I never sell these players short. They always get up and they always fight in tough games. As a coach, my job is really to make sure that they're recovering well. The rest and the recovery tonight and tomorrow is going to be very important,” he added.

Ginebra and TNT faced off in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, which the latter won in six games.

But the Gin Kings now have big man Troy Rosario and the returning Jamie Malonzo, which makes their matchup “very different,” Reyes underscored.

“That's a much better and highly upgraded Ginebra team. But like I said, this team, we know how to put our head down and grind it out and put in the work. Tonight, I think, was a good example,” he said.

“Our game wasn't pretty at all. Shots weren't falling. But we found a way to win. The most important thing first is to find a way to compete. To have the will to compete. Then you can find a way to win. So, hopefully we can do that again on Friday.”

TNT is now holding a 5-2 win-loss record heading into the Ginebra game. The Gin Kings, on the other hand, are at 6-3.