By REYNALD MAGALLON
It’s simply a case of something being so close yet feels like it’s still being far out of reach.
That’s exactly how TNT head coach Chot Reyes is seeing the chance to get back into the Finals of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup when his team tries to go for the jugular against Rain or Shine in Game 5 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, Oct. 18.
The Tropang Giga might be on the verge of taking one of the Finals seats after taking a commanding 3-1 lead in Game 4 but Reyes was under no illusion that things would go any easier from that fight.
Rain or Shine is not a team to expect to just fold up and surrender – certainly not a character from a coach Yeng Guiao-mentored team.
“(The Finals) is the farthest on our minds right now. Our only thought is the preparation for the next game for Game 5,” said Reyes ahead of their 7:30 p.m. collision which will also come after the crucial contest between San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra, both teams tied at 2-2, in the first offering at 5 p.m.
The veteran mentor though has a clear, valid take. For one, TNT only escaped by the skin of its teeth with an 81-79 win in Game 4.
“I thought my players really fought hard and buckled down. I really give a lot of credit to the extra effort that they put in at the end. We know what they want to do, they know what we want to do. It’s all going to boil down to who wants it more,” furthered Reyes.
As big as the series lead built by TNT, Reyes said the games, particularly the last two, could have gone either way. Reyes said the games were not as the dominant as the series count suggests.
“We never felt the momentum was going our way. The whole game it was a grind and we just kept reminding the players to stick to it. We knew it’s going to be a grind,” said Reyes whose TNT only rode the back of import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson who came out with the clutch hit and a big stop down the stretch.
“At halftime, we told them to prepare for 24 minutes in a battle of attrition. This is not going to be easy by any stretch. We told them this will go down the wire and just be prepared,” he added.
Meanwhile on the other semis series, the back-and-forth battle now boils down to a virtual best-of-three with the all-important Game 5 could potentially be the turning point of the series.
So far, San Miguel has found answers to every Ginebra win in the series but head coach Jorge Gallent is hoping to finally break the trend and take the series lead for the first time at the end of Game 5.
“Sana the trend doesn’t follow anymore. I just hope we change the tide in Friday’s game,” said Gallent following the series tying 131-121 win in Game 4.
“It is a best-of-three na lang so we think of (Game 5) as if Game 1 is on Friday. In a best of three Game 1 is important so we just hope that trend breaks on Friday,” he added
