COACH Luigi Trillo was all praises for TNT, particularly import Chris McCullough after Meralco fell on the brink of elimination after a 103-94 loss to the Tropang 5G in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinals affair in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last Friday.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle for pretty much the entire game until McCullough took charge and dropped 17 of his 42 points in the payoff period, scoring on a bevy of tough shots off the isolation to make up for his rough shooting debut with the Tropang 5G back in Game 4.
Trillo wasn’t actually mad with how the Bolts played, TNT was simply the better team that night.
READ: Chot thrilled to see C-Mac fit in at TNT in so short a time
“We’re playing a really good team. A champion team. McCullough really played well. He stepped up and I thought our guys didn’t play bad at all,” Trillo told Spin.ph.
“At the half we were down by one, there were times in the game where we got the lead. I think in the fourth, we were up when McCullough hit some of those tough one on one shots.”
The well-spoken head coach credited TNT’s ability to exploit mismatches and put the 6’9 McCullough in positions where it’s difficult for Meralco to send help, allowing ‘C-Mac’ to feast on his smaller defenders.
“Obviously we got to clean up on some of the things that we need to do but this is far from over. I think there are a lot of things we can do. Just the effort in terms of what we’re doing, in terms of the breakdowns on the back side of the post defense,” Trillo said.
“They’re doing a lot of things. They’re attacking the mismatch, they’re getting some guys in the post. They’re getting in the elbow through those pick and rolls where they can see those mismatches,” he continued.
“They also did well in terms of switching their defense up. They went switching which allowed them to triple switch but then again, they made big shots and that allowed them to get a 10-point lead.”
Regardless of what happens on Sunday, Trillo couldn’t be prouder with how his guys have performed this conference.
“This is our second semifinals [this season]. Last conference we didn’t even make it this far. So to me it’s a blessing to be in this sixth game. Remember this team beat us in five, 4-1 so to get to a Game 6 it’s an opportunity to stretch it to seven. That’s all in our minds,” Trillo said.
“Whether we win or lose [on Sunday] the sun’s gonna rise but it’s an opportunity. I’m proud of guys, our guys battled but sometimes things aren’t going to go your way.
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