MONTALBAN – Chot Reyes was straight to the point when asked why TNT always had a hard time playing against Terrafirma.
“To be very honest (with you), I think we really take them for granted,” said the multi-titled coach without batting an eyelash.
Reyes made the admission just minutes after the Tropang 5G dodged a bullet against a hard-fighting Dyip side, needing a five-minute extension to pull off a 109-95 win at the Ynares Center in a PBA Philippine Cup game on Friday night.
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The Tropang 5G trailed for the most part and never took control of the match until the overtime period when they went on a 10-0 run to make it a 102-92 contest with 1:48 remaining.
Until that scoring burst, TNT appeared on the ropes again opposite the same team that had beaten them twice in three meetings in Season 49.
Two of the Dyip’s three wins last season came at the expense of the Tropang 5G – 84-72 in the Governors’ Cup and 117-108 during the Commissioner’s Cup.
“We really have a bad record against Terrafirma,” Reyes noted.
Going to the game, TNT was on a three-game winning run and thought, it could bully its way against Terrafirma, which had lost its last three outings, Reyes said.
“Akalan namin they will just roll over and die. Kahit ilang reminders na ang pinapa-alala ko sa kanila everytime, we put in hard practices, we had a very good practice leading to this,” said Reyes.
“But I guess its human nature.”
Reyes added even during the pre-season, Terrafirma also gave TNT a hard time.
“Bago kami umalis for Dubai, naka-isang tuneup game pa kami against Terrafirma,” he recalled. “And the result was the same. Eksakto, tabla.”
Truly, it was a sigh of relief for Reyes that TNT managed to pull off this one, giving his team a share of the top spot with Rain or Shine, both on similar 5-1 slates.
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