By REYNALD MAGALLON
For some reason, delivering the knockout blow to an opponent who’s already on the ropes is always the hardest.
And that’s the expectation for coach Jojo Lastimosa and TNT when they try to put Meralco to sleep in the Game 4 of their 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, March 31.
Tip-off of the remaining semis affair after Ginebra swept San Miguel last Wednesday is at 5:45 p.m. as the top seed Tropang Giga looks to punch the Finals ticket with a victory.
Easier said than done if you would ask Lastimosa however as TNT is bracing for a dogfight especially with the Bolts determined to stave off elimination and live to fight for another day
“I’m telling you I’ve been in this situation where I played, where I was an assistant coach and the close out game is always the hardest,” said Lastimosa after his wards bounced back from a Game 2 collapse with a huge 99-80 Game 3 triumph.
“We always talk about that for some reason there’s just a different feel when you’re trying to close out the game because we know the other team are also just as fit, at the same time we don’t want to force the issue if we want to close out the game. We’ll see how it goes,” he added.
TNT though should have all the momentum going in the crucial encounter as import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson returned to his usual explosive ways going off with a 40-point explosion in the win and was complimented well by Mikey Williams who contributed 29.
Meralco head coach Norman Black, for his part, insisted that his wards couldn’t afford to suffer a flat start in a do-or-die game just like what happened in that Game 3 loss.
It was a total blackout for the Bolts as they failed to hit their strides both in the offensive and defensive ends. Meralco opened the game on a 0-of-18 shooting from the three-point territory while also struggling to put the clamps on Hollis-Jefferson who steered TNT to a commanding 56-30 lead at the break.
The veteran coach is also urging his local players to bounce back and give ample support to import KJ McDaniels who was the lone bright spot with 30 points but had to work extra as the defense continued to collapse on him.
That task will now be on the shoulders of Aaron Black, Chris Newsome and Raymond Almazan as TNT is also expecting to get more contributions from RR Pogoy, Jayson Castro and Calvin Oftana.
“For sure it’s going to be a hard game next game. It’s going to be a dogfight, it’s going to be a battle and whoever comes out on the team that wins the game is going to be bloody. It’s going to be a hard game on Game 4,” said Lastimosa
