TNT coach Chot Reyes fully understands why his team lost to San Miguel.
The Beermen had a full arsenal, were managed and coached well but the most telling according to Reyes and which most observers agree, was that SMB's lineup is so potent that second stringers could pass for starters.
Then there's also the matter of inuries that so depleted TNT that having won two games despite this could be considered a miracle, if not a testament to Tropang 5G's fighting spirit.
READ: MVP on TNT finals loss: 'Nakakalungkot pero hindi nakakahiya'
But in the end, the number of talented players that SMB could throw almost at will at TNT was just too high a hill to overcome with the Beermen pulling away with hardly no resistance in the closing stages of most games.
Reyes hopes that this one-sided scenario does not repeat itself when Season 50 begins in a few months. By then, many of the injured TNT players have hopefully healed and a more competitive team will have emerged.
The only way to compete against a team like San Miguel and it sister teams, which Reyes believes are the true rivals in the league, is to be able to match their depth and strength.
Magnolia, Ginebra, SMB 'very, very deep'
“Yeah, well that's the plan," Reyes said. “You see how deep San Miguel, Ginebra and Magnolia are. They're very, very deep. So we have to be able to match that.”
He sees the comeback of injured Rey Nambatac and Jayson Castro - the Commissioner's and Governors' Cup Finals MVPs respectively - as a positive since they are expected to return to action in a few months.
That gives TNT one of the most talented backcourts in the league with RR Pogoy and the recently-acquired Jordan Heading, adding clout. Then there's really good complimentary guards like Brian Heruela, Simon Enciso and Almond Vosotros who gave a good account of himself in the finals series.
Poy Erram's injury is, however, another matter. The 6'7 big man's knee injury has been diagnosed as an ACL tear which doctors say will take many months to heal. Because of this, resident do-it-all import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson may have to take more load.
But with Kelly Williams and Calvin Oftana now fully healthy after suffering separate ankle issues in the Philippine Cup playoffs, TNT's frontline is expected to be more robust when the Philippine Cup rolls around this October.
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