TNT handed returning coach Chot Reyes a victory in his first game back in the PBA as it fended off Terrafirma, 86-79, for a winning start in the Philippine Cup on Saturday, July 17 at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Star guard Jayson Castro spearheaded the Tropang Giga's assault in the middle quarters before they staved off a late fightback from the Dyip to secure the season-opening triumph.
Castro ignited a 24-2 run bridging the second and third periods that lifted TNT to its largest lead at 55-33, but Juami Tiongson sparked Terrafirma's charge in the final frame to cut the deficit down to 79-84 with 2:10 left in the game.
The Tropang Giga clamped down on defense from there as Poy Erram sank a layup to peg the final count.
Reyes marked his first PBA win nine years after steering the TNT franchise to four championships from 2008 to 2012.
The former Gilas Pilipinas mentor, however, was far from satisfied with his squad's performance.
"We're obviously happy that we won but I was kind of disappointed with how we played the last one quarter and a half of this game. I thought we weren't faithful to how we wanted to play this game. This kind of effort is not going to make me sit here when we play the top teams in this league," said the 57-year-old tactician.
"It feels good (to be back) but I think part of the learning process here is me getting back into the groove of preparing for games. I don't think I was as much prepared for this game," he added.
Castro fired a game-high tying 17 points to go with five rebounds and four assists while Erram and Troy Rosario chipped in 15 and 14 markers, respectively, on top of a combined 21 boards.
Kelly Williams tallied seven points, five rebounds and an assist before getting ejected due to a flagrant and technical foul in his first game out of retirement.
Rookie guard Mikey Williams, the fourth overall pick in the latest draft, missed TNT's opener as he was still under quarantine.
Aldrech Ramos scored 17 points and Rashawn McCarthy had 13 markers for Terrafirma which began its post-CJ Perez era.
Top pick Joshua Munzon struggled with six points on a paltry 3-of-15 shooting clip.
The scores :
TNT 86 – Castro 17, Erram 15, Rosario 14, Pogoy 10, Marcelo 9, Williams 7, Khobuntin 6, Reyes 5, Montalbo 3, Alejandro 0, Heruela 0, Mendoza 0
Terrafirma 79 – Ramos 17, McCarthy 13, Cahilig 12, Tiongson 10, Adams 7, Munzon 6, Laput 6, Alolino 2, Rosser 2, Gabayni 2, Calvo 0, Balagasay 0
Quarters : 17-20, 45-33, 71-59, 86-79