Josh Reyes rues TNT’s inconsistency, losing steam amid EASL exit

MANILA, Philippines – TNT’s cold start made the uphill East Asia Super League (EASL) battle against the Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters steeper, coach Josh Reyes said Wednesday.

TNT bowed out of the playoff picture after absorbing an 88-76 loss against the Korean team Wednesday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Exactly a week after being eliminated in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the Tropang Giga had both Rondae and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson.

The team, however, did not have key cogs Calvin Oftana, Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams.

The depleted TNT squad cut an early double-digit lead to six, 19-25, at the 2:01 mark of the first quarter.

They then entered in a cold spell as they faced a 23-point deficit, 42-19, stretching to the second quarter.

They were unable to score until the 7:55 mark of the second quarter, a layup by Rahlir, to cut the lead, 21-42.

TNT was able to cut the lead to five, 73-78, in the fourth quarter, but Anyang ended the game with a 10-3 run as the Tropang Giga simply ran out of fuel.

Reyes acknowledged the hot start of Anyang as TNT’s harbinger.

“That hot start by Anyang and that big run at the beginning was too much to overcome at the end. They were shooting… It was a big contrast on how they were shooting and how we were shooting,” the coach said.

“We were getting good looks, but we had airballs, missed layups, missed threes, missed free throws, so on the other hand, the moment Anyang got open they knocked it down and that’s a huge credit for them,” he added.

The team was able to adjust their defense, as they made runs throughout the game, but the 50% 3-point shooting of Anyang was just too much to overcome.

Rondae said that after being down 23 early, they had to battle the whole game.

“We gotta battle, scratch and claw to get back into the game. That’s tough for anybody to come back from that,” he said.

“They had the lead the whole game, so we just got our backs against the wall and tried to fight. Credit to our guys too for making it back, making it a close game,” he added.

The Red Boosters made 15 of their 30 attempts from beyond the arc. They finished the game making 34 of their 64 field goals, good for 53%.

Reyes also bared that there is a certain kind of defense that is needed to play against a hot-shooting Korean team.

“That’s a very big contrast on how you would normally play here, locally, so having that switch in a few days, for them, we really realized how much we need to lock in and execute our defense against screening actions,” he said.

“So when we started to really dig in and lock in to our defensive rules and schemes, we forced them to some challenged threes and that’s how we got our run,” he added.

“The run happened and you know, unfortunately, we weren’t able to sustain it and support it with our offense and that’s why we fell short.”

TNT ended Group A play with a 1-5 win-loss slate. The lone win the Filipino team got was against the Taipei Fubon Braves.