TNT KaTropa coach Nash Racela said his team overachieved despite falling short against San Miguel Beermen in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series that ended with a 96-83 loss in Game 7 last Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The KaTropa couldn’t contain the Beermen’s fiery second half, allowing them to make 79 percent of their shots in the third quarter and fall to a 20-point deficit following a seesaw first half.
The absence of Jayson Castro, who injured his left leg in the 104-88 loss in Game 6, also affected TNT particularly on offense where it struggled to make shots from almost all angles.
“I think the team exceeded expectations,” Racela told reporters after the game. “Nobody expected us to be in this position. I think even kayo e, you were expecting a sweep by San Miguel e twice in the series we were up. If not for that Game 6, e di alam mo na.”
TNT struggled at the start of the conference, finding its niche in Racela’s first conference since being appointed to handle the MVP group’s flagship franchise.
It went 6-5 in the eliminations, swept Globalport in the best-of-three quarters, and entered the semis series with San Miguel as heavy underdogs.
The KaTropa lost Game 1 convincingly, but led the series twice, 2-1 and 3-2. They appeared to be on the verge of advancing to the finals, leading by 12 points in the third before the Beermen went on a big run to force a decider.
When asked if that Game 6 defeat was a turning point, Racela, who was fined P20,000 for comments saying the Beermen were getting “special treatment” from the referees, almost agreed to that notion.
“All I can remember in Game 6 was we gave them 40 free throws, while in the other games, we only gave them in the twenties, so I think it’s a factor,” he said. “If you want me to talk about Game 6, because (in Game 7), they only had 20-plus and it was close.
“But you don’t have Jayson, so it’s hard. Kung Game 6, mga twenties lang free throws nila, then maybe…” he added.