MANILA, Philippines — The TNT Tropang Giga may have outclassed the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots in Game One of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals match, 108-96, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
But TNT ace Mikey Williams knows it's unlikely that it will be the same story in the next game.
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Having faced them in the finals of the Philippine Cup last season, Williams is expecting a tough fightback from last year's runners-up as they seek to avenge their previous loss.
"Oh I know it's going to be a tough series, it's a great team that we're playing against," Williams said after the game.
"It's gonna be scrappy and we're just going to have to play through everything," he added.
In Game One, TNT already had a taste of resistance from the Hotshots as they tried to erase a deficit as big as 24 in the fourth salvo.
But the Tropang Giga were able to answer back on the offensive side to keep themselves in control.
Still, Williams rued one too many shortcomings for TNT that the team cannot ignore.
"I commend my team for how we picked up the charge and really took it to them in the second half. But we have to sustain the full 48 [minutes]," said Williams.
"I feel like we had too many lapses today," he added.
Williams and the rest of TNT hope to clean up their game and gain a 2-0 advantage when they face Magnolia anew in Game Two at 6 p.m. Friday at the same venue.