RAINY weather means bed weather for some.
Unfortunately, that mood also stung TNT on Wednesday as coach Nash Racela didn’t fail to recognize the team’s listless showing in its 111-89 loss to Magnolia.
“We just felt that the energy was down today, that's why,” he said. “Actually the whole game, hindi maganda. Even when we were leading in the first half, hindi rin naman maganda ang tinatakbo namin.”
The KaTropa held a 48-43 halftime lead on a 51-percent shooting from the field, but after the break, it was all downhill from there.
TNT’s field goal percentage dropped to 40 percent as it lost the battle of the boards, 55 to 38.
It also got decimated in all fronts, from the open court, losing to Magnolia on fastbreak points, 14-8, to the paint, with the Hotshots’ scoring 56 inside points against the KaTropa’s 26.
Those factors cost TNT from formally clinching a seat in the quarterfinals and inching closer to securing a Top Two seed. Now, at 6-2, it sits firmly at third place this 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Racela knows that reaching that goal might be a stretch now after this second defeat, especially with the defending champion San Miguel up in its schedule on Saturday.
“It all depends on the next three games, of course, if we can get the Top Two. But what we really need to focus on is the next one — San Miguel. They lost (against GlobalPort), which makes it doubly hard to play them,” he said before laying down the challenge to the KaTropa.
“That’s a challenge we need to survive.”