DEFENDING champion TNT Tropang Giga goes for the kill on Friday against Magnolia in Game 5 of their best-of-seven semifinals duel in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga are armed with the momentum from back-to-back wins over the Hotshots—93-92 in Game 2 behind Jayson Castro’s triple last Sunday and102-84 in Game 4 last Wednesday.
But Reyes remained calm and refused to dwell on those wins as he expects the Hotshots to come back stronger for the 3 p.m. game.
“There’s nothing much to be said,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said. “They know the most difficult win to get in any series is the No. 4 win. We have to be extra ready for it.”
JP Erram also is in the mix after scoring 22 points in Game 3 and 19 points in Game 4 despite Magnolia’s defensive clamp on Mikey Williams who finished with a measly 15 points in the last two games.
Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said there are some issues to be resolved including early foul trouble of his players.
“I don’t know what kind of adjustments but that’s our game. From the elimination up to here, we just try to play our defense … but we’re always in foul trouble,” Victolero said. “My key players like Calvin [Abueva], Ian [Sangalang] and Paul [Lee], they’re always in foul trouble. I don’t know how we can adjust.”
Meralco and San Miguel Beer, after a seesaw battle in the series, try to break lose from a 2-2 standoff starting at 6 p.m.
The Bolts beat the Beermen, 111-97, in Game 4, behind Aaron Black’s 21 points and Allein Maliksi’s 19 points.
Image credits: Rudy Esperas