With Brownlee or not, TNT guards against complacency vs Ginebra
At A Glance
- TNT head coach Chot Reyes is refusing to believe that the Tropang Giga finally have the upperhand in their best-of-seven PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup despite the injury of Barangay Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee.
TNT head coach Chot Reyes is refusing to believe that the Tropang Giga finally have the upperhand in their best-of-seven PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup despite the injury of Barangay Ginebra resident import Justin Brownlee.
For the veteran mentor, if there’s any impact the potential absence of Brownlee would do to the series, it would only be the added fuel to the fire of the Kings' "Never-Say-Die" mantra.
And that's exactly what TNT is bracing for come Game 4 when it tries to seize a commanding 3-1 lead against Ginebra at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, March 21.
“Even without Justin, we have to be at our best. I just reminded the players how strong and how deep that team is and not to let our guards down even with Brownlee out of the game,” said Reyes ahead of the 7:30 p.m. clash that would also come after the awarding of the Best Player of the Conference and Best Import awards.
True enough, even when Brownlee was subbed out and never returned after dislocating his right thumb midway through the third, the Kings remained within striking distance.
The Tropa even needed extra effort on crashing the boards in their final possession and a gutsy triple from Rey Nambatac to finally take the fight out of the Kings
“It took our very best. We actually talked about it when Justin went out and I told the players, we're going to see the best Ginebra here,” said Reyes after TNT escaped with an 87-85 win in Game 3.
“I thought the key was when they went on a three-point lead in the last five or six minutes, we didn't panic and we stayed calm. I think that was the key,” he added.
With no clear picture in sight as to whether Brownlee will be able to play in the crucial tiff, Ginebra deputy Richard del Rosario admitted that the absence of the veteran import would be a huge blow to the team.
“Definitely, it's a big concern. Kasi si Justin, he provides a lot of stuff for us. Not only on offense but in defense. And part of our system revolves around Justin. But again, we had a taste of playing without him here in the second half,” said del Rosario.
In the event that the Kings play all-Filipino, much of the load should fall on the shoulders of one-time Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson along with veterans Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario and Jamie Malonzo along with RJ Abarrientos and Stephen Holt.