ANTIPOLO – Bad coaching.
In two words, that’s how Chot Reyes summarized TNT’s 118-111 overtime loss against PBA Governors’ Cup leader NLEX Tuesday night at the Ynares Center here.
“When your team loses to a team without an import, there’s no one to blame but the coach, right?” quipped the veteran mentor when asked what happened to the Tropang 5G after engaging the Road Warriors for almost the entire second half – including the extra period – without injured import Dequan Jones.
“That’s bad coaching on our part.”
READ: NLEX survives horrific Dequan Jones injury, outlasts TNT in OT
The defending champions appeared poised of winning the game they once trailed by as many as 14 points when they held on a 104-99 lead inside the final 30 seconds of regulation.
But Robert Bolick did not let the game slip away from the hands of the Road Warriors, hitting two back-breaking four-point shots, including the last one which sent the game into overtime, 107-all.
That was the game there, according to Reyes, the only seven-time winner of the Coach of the Year award.
“We gave up two four-point shots,” he pointed out. “Again we should have better defense in that (situation). And like I said it’s just bad coaching on my part.”
Bolick ended up going 2-of-3 from the four-point line to finish with a team-high 27 points, along with eight assists and five rebounds, while rookie LJ Gonzales added 26 and six rebounds for the Road Warriors, who had the unfortunate moment of losing Jones to a full fractured lower right leg early in the third period.
The loss dropped TNT to an even 4-4 record in Group A in a tie for third with Converge.
The Tropang 5G still has a game left ironically, against the FiberXers before going to a break for the FIBA window and the 20th Asian Games.
Reyes said the team plans to rest and get better going to the more than a month of respite.
“Right now our game is nowhere near good enough. Hopefully, we can find enough wins to get into the playoffs,” said Reyes.
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