While San Miguel Beer was in a tough process of finishing off Barangay Ginebra at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night, the whole TNT squad turned the boardroom of the PLDT offices in Makati City into a proverbial situation room.
That was where the Tropang 5G not only met with their big bosses for a pre-Finals dinner, they also used the gathering to watch the Game 7 semis decider before making initial plots for the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup championship series against the Beermen.
“We didn’t want to end the night or go our separate ways without knowing who our opponent is,” said coach Chot Reyes, who has this chance to complete a Grand Slam 14 seasons from his last shot—and against the same franchise. “We made [the night hitting] two birds with one stone.”
Reyes said the meeting also had some light moments, but there was also a realization of what could lie ahead for TNT as it aims for a place in PBA history with a historic Triple Crown sweep.
After winning two titles at the expense of Ginebra in Season 49, TNT will have a different opponent this time in San Miguel, a team that is eager to regain its status as the best in the PBA’s most important conference and relive an old role of being the spoiler 14 years ago.
That season had TNT winning the Philippine Cup and Commissioner’s Cup and was a win shy of completing the feat against San Miguel, then known as Petron.
“I already forgot about that,” Reyes said Friday. “2011 is really ancient history for me, so it’s really not in my consciousness.”At that time, Reyes had Jimmy Alapag, a young Jayson Castro, Kelly Williams in his prime and a Ryan Reyes that could guard multiple positions, leading his squad. But they couldn’t get the job done and the Blaze Boosters of Arwind Santos and Danny Ildefonso prevented a Triple Crown sweep with a Game 7 win.
Another subplot in the series was the elimination phase of the tournament, which saw the Tropang 5G reel to a 0-3 start heading into their matchup with the Beermen, a potential make-or-break scenario.
TNT not only won behind a 20-20 game from Calvin Oftana plus late heroics from Simon Enciso, it triggered a run that set up its eventual entry to the PBA’s ultimate stage yet again.
“We actually talked about it amongst ourselves about that game,” Reyes said. “It was our first win, and we thought it was crucial for us. If not, we would have gone 0-4 and it would have been very difficult for us [to get back on track].
“It was really a turning point and hopefully we can continue to find ways to compete against San Miguel,” he added.
Of course, the addition of Jordan Heading and the return of Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser from injury also added some layer to TNT’s run that set itself up for potentially atoning for that failed Grand Slam bid.
Reyes kept playing coy when asked of that potential place in PBA annals, but he acknowledged the need to face it with “disciplined thinking.”
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“Just preparing yourself mentally and make sure that you’re not allowing your mind to wander,” said Reyes. “And that’s completely within my control, it does not do with anything outside interference, that’s completely in my control.
“So I just constantly reinforce the things that I do, and that I remind the players as well to shorten your vision to what’s in front now,” he added.