IT was a season to forget for TNT Tropang Giga, both in the PBA and the East Asia Super League (EASL), after being dealt early exits in the two competitions.
TNT was booted out of EASL Final Four contention by reigning champion Anyang Jung Kwan Jang to end a dismal stint at 1-5 (win-loss) exactly a week after losing to top-seed Magnolia as the eighth-seed with a 5-6 prelims record in the 2023 PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals.
But despite missing the mark on their team objectives, TNT interim coach Josh Reyes, who called the shots in their last few EASL group stage games, bared what went wrong and what ended up being the center of attention in the team in recent months.
READ: Rondae says NBA comeback a priority but still open to rejoin TNT
"It’s no secret that this was — disappointment might be too strong of a word — but we fell short of our goals basically. I really believe that we were better than our record because every game, we were in every game.
"It’s just a matter of these little things — closing out games, getting the big plays to turn the game around, just little things here and there," Reyes said.
"I really believe that there were a lot of distractions and talks about players who are not here. But when you see each game, and I told these to the guys, each game we were there, we were competitive, and we were a lot better than what our record says. That means that we had enough," he added.
Blocking out the noise
Reyes didn't shy away from the fact that there was plenty of off-court chatter about the team, including player absences and coaching changes among others.
What now matters most for the Tropang Giga is to get its act together on all fronts and prepare to fight back come the All-Filipino Conference in the absence of Hollis-Jefferson brothers Rondae and Rahlir.
"I really believe that there were a lot of distractions and talks about players who are not here. But when you see each game, and I told these to the guys, each game we were there, we were competitive, and we were a lot better than what our record says. That means that we had enough."
Reyes added: "Instead of focusing on who’s not here with us, focus on the guys who are actually there in between the lines and playing and fighting every game. If we can just get better at that, then things can get around."
"There’s a lot of talks, fluctuations on players, coaching staff, and all that. I hope in all these things, our team will get settled down coming into the next conference and we can just progress and move forward and get better from there."
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