Fans will be looking to how Bol Bol and the rest of TNT will respond, heading into their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup meeting with NLEX this Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The defending conference champions stumbled in their first test after bowing to Rain or Shine, 112-109, in a game infamous for the ugly fistfight between Glenn Khobuntin and Jaylen Johnson entering the final six minutes.
Both have since been slapped with suspensions and fines by the Commissioner’s Office on Saturday, with the Tropang 5G bruiser receiving harsher penalties, as he will have to pay PHP 70,000 and sit out for two games.
Khobuntin, 34, will start serving his suspension in the Road Warriors game, leaving TNT short-handed in the bout scheduled for a 7:30 tip-off.
“We sucked like hell,” was the only thing that head coach Chot Reyes could say, irate as his men couldn’t get the job done against a team reduced to an all-Filipino unit following the ejection of Johnson alongside Khobuntin.
But as far as the Casino Plus sportsbook is concerned, TNT is favored to win with a -5.5 margin. The over/under, meanwhile, is set at 199 points.
Bets can be made here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/sport-community/data/basketball/.
The Tropang 5G will be taking on an NLEX team that’s sharing the no. 2 spot in the standings as of the moment, together with the Elasto Painters and the Meralco Bolts. All teams carry identical 2-0 win-loss records.
Coach Jong Uichio’s men nailed win no. 2 against Magnolia in a thrilling clash in Montalban. And they’ll be looking to add another traditional contender to their list of victims as they try scalp their sister team.
But it will be intriguing to see how NLEX will try to contain the 7-foot-3 Bol, who — despite being challenged well by Rain or Shine — still finished with 38 points and 16 rebounds alongside three assists and five blocks.
Will they emulate the ploy made by Yeng Guiao and his charges, or can NLEX come up with different schemes in limiting the former NBA big man?
Meanwhile, Blackwater is hoping to turn its fortunes around when it takes on the hungry Hotshots at the 5:15 PM tiff to open the double-header affair.
It will be a clash between 0-2 sides, with much attention on the Bossing as they will debut Robert Upshaw III, who has replaced Daniel Ochefu.
Head coach Jeff Cariaso was initially noncommittal about making the switch, as he wanted to see first how Ochefu’s slightly injured knee would recover. But the staff ultimately pulled the trigger by activating the 7-foot American.
A wide-bodied center, Upshaw shall bring a fresher dynamic to Blackwater, and that could be of help in trying to break through at Magnolia’s expense.
However, the Bossing are still a +8.0 underdog against the Hotshots, according to Casino Plus. The total points spread, meanwhile, is set at 193.5.
But of course, they know that it won’t be easy, with the Hotshots now in their third game together with last-minute replacement Nuni Omot.
The South Sudanese star, despite the loss to NLEX, produced better compared to his first game. He finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, giving the impression that he’s starting to find his groove with his new team.
Still, it remains to be seen if Omot and the locals have meshed their game together — something that Coach LA Tenorio is definitely wishing for, so they don’t fall into a deeper hole in the midseason joust.
