RR Pogoy was one of the reasons why TNT gained a head start over Rain or Shine in their best-of-seven semifinal series with a 98-91 victory on Wednesday at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
But for the Tropang 5G to once again beat the Elasto Painters and move another step closer toward completing a historic Grand Slam by way of the PBA Philippine Cup title, Pogoy said that his recent offensive burst won’t be enough.
“It would take a collective effort for us to win [this series],” Pogoy said after dropping 28 points in a series opener that had a lot of challenges for TNT.
Five others scored in double figures, including Jordan Heading, who was being bothered by an ailing back. The Tropang 5G also got stops that frustrated Rain or Shine on the other end to secure a win that could set up another mastery by TNT against coach Yeng Guiao’s wards.
“We’re not the [most] talented team in the PBA, but we will do our best to be the best team in the PBA,” Pogoy added.
TNT will seek a commanding 2-0 lead over Rain or Shine on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, which would replicate the two teams’ previous semifinal duels in the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup.
Coach Chot Reyes’ crew went on to dispatch the Elasto Painters in five games both times, but the dynamics could be different this time, especially with the latter having two key players in the quarterfinal upset of NLEX in Jhonard Clarito and Mike Malonzo.
Reyes did mention some things that need to be cleaned up for the duration of the semis.
“I was very disappointed with our first half. I thought we played pretty sloppy and we had a lot of loose possessions,” Reyes said. “Luckily, we got a big lift, defensively, from Poy Erram who anchored our defense.
“And when that happened, it allowed us opportunities to score.”
Rain or Shine fell short in its bid to pull off a shock Game 1 win. Behind their grit, the Elasto Painters even went up by five in the third before the Tropang 5G were able to counter.
Andrei Caracut scored 16 points and Clarito had 14 points and seven rebounds for Rain or Shine.
Heading had 11 points in 15 minutes despite dealing with back issues, but was credited by Reyes for being a “gamer.”
Reyes said Heading has not even participated in practices leading up to the game. Heading bared that his back, which forced him to miss games with Converge earlier in the conference before the trade went down, acted up anew during the quarterfinals against Magnolia.
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“It’s a game-to-game call,” Reyes said of Heading’s status.
San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra was playing the opener of their own best-of-seven series at press time.