Chot says team effort did it

MANILA, Philippines — TNT coach Chot Reyes said the other day even as rookie Mikey Williams was clearly the standout in the recent PBA Philippine Cup finals, the Tropa wouldn’t have clinched the title without the contribution of every player, including the six “kurimaws” picked from the unrestricted free agents pool in the offseason.

“I’ve said it all along,” said Reyes who left for Los Angeles last Monday night to visit his mother and brother Jun. “With more than half of our team players who were either unsigned free agents, forgotten or coming back from retirement, how integral their roles will be in our campaign. And that’s how it turned out. No way we could’ve won without the contributions of Kel (Williams), Ry (Reyes), Brian (Heruela), Glenn (Khobuntin) and Dave (Marcelo).

TNT trounced Magnolia, 4-1, in the best-of-seven series, losing only Game 3 and winning four outings by an average margin of 15.5 points while holding down the Hotshots to 82.75. Magnolia took Game 3, 106-98, even as Williams erupted for a career-high 39 points but as a whole, TNT shot a series-low 40.5 percent from the floor. “I just showed the guys our stats in Game 3,” said Reyes. “Particularly how bad Jayson (Castro), Roger (Pogoy), Kel and Ry played. Kel and Ry were a combined -41 and we still almost came back from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter. So I told them to not just play that bad. Kel and Ry were a combined +43 in Game 4.” Throughout the conference, TNT never lost back-to-back and finished with an overall mark of 19-5.

Choosing Mikey Williams fourth overall in the first round after the Gilas lottery was a coup for TNT as the former California State at Fullerton guard was picked behind Joshua Munzon, Jaime Malonzo and Calvin Oftana. “We knew Mikey would be a great fit for our system,” said Reyes. “We didn’t know how great though.” Williams was the hands-down choice as finals MVP with a scoring average of 27.6, shooting 51.6 from the field and a scorching 54.6 from beyond the arc. Reyes said TNT’s seven-game semis series against San Miguel Beer prepared Williams for Magnolia’s different looks on defense. “Mikey learned a lot in the San Miguel series, particularly as he was defended by Chris Ross,” said Reyes.

Reyes said Magnolia’s physicality was never an issue. In the eliminations, the Hotshots were No. 1 in most fouls, owing to their relentless in-your-face pressure defense. “We’re pretty physical, too,” he said. “We intentionally built this team with toughness in mind.” After leaving TNT in 2012, Reyes focused on his Gilas duties. Then came the opportunity to return to the PBA. In his comeback conference, Reyes looked as sharp as he was when he left nine years ago. “I dedicate this championship first to my family who’s been there all along,” he said. “Then to every Filipino who’s going through adversity at this time. Hopefully, we were able to provide some respite in these hard times and they get inspired by how hard we battled to overcome great odds.”