Lastimosa on Game 4 win: 'We went back to what we do best'
Published Apr 17, 2023 06:33 am
TNT head coach Jojo Lastimosa said there was nothing too fancy about the 116-104 Game 4 win against Ginebra in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup and his team just went back to what they do best: shoot the ball.
*Mikey Williams got plenty of help in Game 4 as three other TNT players nailed four triples (PBA Images)*
The Tropang Giga gave the Kings a dose of their own medicine as, after Ginebra recorded a franchise record 18 triples in Game 3, TNT fired back with its own torrid shooting, this time resetting the PBA finals record of most threes by a team to 21. Five TNT players had at least three triples each with Kib Montalbo, Jayson Castro, Mikey Williams and Calvin Oftana recording four treys apiece while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, not really known as an outside shooter, joined the party with three connections from deep. Such an impressive shooting display should actually come as natural for TNT as three-point shooting has really been a part of its system all throughout the season and a key to its finals return. “I think what we did was we went back to what we do best. We know that if Rondae is there as a screener, and we have proper spacing, and we have shooters in the corners, we know that we're going to get shots,” said Lastimosa. “The problem with our last game kasi masama yung spacing namin,” he added, referring to the Game 3 loss where TNT didn’t do exactly bad with 15 triples although their execution was not as crisp and fluid as usual. Oftana, whose shooting went missing in Game 3, and Montalbo, who got to start the game in place of injured RR Pogoy, typified TNT’s better offensive flow in Game 4. "Calvin just had a lot of looks tonight. And it just stemmed from our spacing. And of course, it helps that Calvin played a lot of minutes too,” Lastimosa said of Oftana who finished with 16 points. “He had a lot of opportunities. He actually turned down a lot of shots tonight too. Sabi ko fake ng fake hindi ka makakatira nyan So, finally he did. And even yung iba pinilit nya na nga pero pumasok e. If it’s your night, it’s your night,” he added. Lastimosa also noted that TNT got ample support from the rest of the team given the injuries to Pogoy and Justin Chua. Kelly Williams made his return and provided quality minutes with his defense while Montalbo added another outside shooting threat which allowed the Tropang Giga to spread Ginebra’s defense.
*Mikey Williams got plenty of help in Game 4 as three other TNT players nailed four triples (PBA Images)*
The Tropang Giga gave the Kings a dose of their own medicine as, after Ginebra recorded a franchise record 18 triples in Game 3, TNT fired back with its own torrid shooting, this time resetting the PBA finals record of most threes by a team to 21. Five TNT players had at least three triples each with Kib Montalbo, Jayson Castro, Mikey Williams and Calvin Oftana recording four treys apiece while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, not really known as an outside shooter, joined the party with three connections from deep. Such an impressive shooting display should actually come as natural for TNT as three-point shooting has really been a part of its system all throughout the season and a key to its finals return. “I think what we did was we went back to what we do best. We know that if Rondae is there as a screener, and we have proper spacing, and we have shooters in the corners, we know that we're going to get shots,” said Lastimosa. “The problem with our last game kasi masama yung spacing namin,” he added, referring to the Game 3 loss where TNT didn’t do exactly bad with 15 triples although their execution was not as crisp and fluid as usual. Oftana, whose shooting went missing in Game 3, and Montalbo, who got to start the game in place of injured RR Pogoy, typified TNT’s better offensive flow in Game 4. "Calvin just had a lot of looks tonight. And it just stemmed from our spacing. And of course, it helps that Calvin played a lot of minutes too,” Lastimosa said of Oftana who finished with 16 points. “He had a lot of opportunities. He actually turned down a lot of shots tonight too. Sabi ko fake ng fake hindi ka makakatira nyan So, finally he did. And even yung iba pinilit nya na nga pero pumasok e. If it’s your night, it’s your night,” he added. Lastimosa also noted that TNT got ample support from the rest of the team given the injuries to Pogoy and Justin Chua. Kelly Williams made his return and provided quality minutes with his defense while Montalbo added another outside shooting threat which allowed the Tropang Giga to spread Ginebra’s defense.