When TNT blew out the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last September 23 in their 2017 Governor’s Cup elimination round meeting, 121-92, the Katropa’s hopes rocketed that there would be a repeat come Game One of their semifinal series.
Things did not go as planned, however. Instead, a complete reversal took place, as the Katropa were the ones who got dismantled this time, 94-121, Monday night.
“We were outplayed, we were out-coached, we were out-hustled,” lamented the Texters’ first-year head coach Nash Racela, moments after the crushing loss at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Reversal naman today.”
The 45-year-old tactician’s claims was strongly backed up by the numbers the Katropa produced. They only shot 40 percent from the floor; got outrebounded 42-54; and committed 22 turnovers that led to 23 points for Ginebra.
TNT’s defeat is understandable, as they have come off a grueling quarterfinal series against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters last September 29 . But Racela is not sold on the idea that they might have been affected by fatigue.
“I don’t know. Could be. We shouldn’t be entertaining those thoughts at this point. That’s how I always felt about the fatigue factor,” said the outspoken mentor.
However, the 19-year veteran coach admitted that having little time to rest and prepare — TNT only had three days of breathing room prior to Game One — played a huge factor in the disappointing defeat.
“The difference is their last game was on Wednesday, out last game was Friday, so it was really hard to prepare for this game,” he bared. “We had little window to rest and I think we had two practices before the game.
“I think that was crucial.”
With the loss, the TNT urgently need to eke out a win on Game Two, as the semis is just a race-to-three. Otherwise, the Katropa’s hopes of getting into the title match might become bleaker.
“If we’re not better come Wednesday, we’ll lose two straight,” warned Racela.
“Hopefully [our errors] would correct everything on the other day.”
