At the top of TNT’s priorities is ensuring that both Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams are at maximum health ahead of the the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Head coach Chot Reyes is hoping as much, especially with the Tropang Giga on a collision course with Rain or Shine in a best-of-3 battle between the fourth and fifth seeds in the playoffs’ opening round, set next week.
“The only way we can compete with them is if we have everyone on board,” the champion mentor said shortly after their 98-93 escape of Magnolia to book an outright trip to the quarters Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“I hope we have a few days for Kelly to be a hundred percent; I hope Jayson isn’t too banged up. That’s our main concern first, to make sure that they recover and they’re a hundred percent for the game,” added Reyes.
Castro himself submitted a solid outing against the Hotshots with 18 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and a steal in 28 minutes off the bench. And he did all that despite experiencing knee issues since facing NLEX in Ilocos last April 13.
“I think naramdaman niya ‘yun sa Ilocos eh, sa Candon,” Reyes said. “That’s where he really felt his knee issues. He was kind of taking it easy in the games after that. Obviously it affected his lift, it affected his scoring.”
“But today wala nang choice eh. Today was really a do-or-die. I think if we lost today, we would have to beat somebody in a knockout and then try to beat San Miguel twice just to move forward. This was really a do-or-die for us.”
But compounding on the TNT camp’s woes was the 37-year-old floor general suffering an apparent left wrist injury. He fell onto the floor following an accidental bump by counterpart Paul Lee with 18.4 seconds left to play.
It was not a welcome sight for a side that has Williams listed as day-to-day owing to back problems – the very reason why he sat out their game against Converge last May 1 in Pasig that eventually led to a 107-103 loss.
Still, Williams finished as their top scorer with 19 points. He also put in eight rebounds and four assists in over 37 minutes of action.
“Kelly is a day-to-day situation, always,” Reyes said.
“It’s always a day-to-day call. He literally sometimes comes to practice, ready to practice, goes to our warm-ups and our drills and then suddenly his back [acts up].”
That’s why the six-time Coach of the Year awardee is crossing his fingers that his long-time wards will be all fine come the quarters. He is worrying about what kind of team they will be facing in the Elasto Painters.
“I think Rain or Shine, outside of San Miguel, they’re the hottest team in the league. They’ve won six of their last seven games,” he said. “The last time we played them, we barely beat them. We just escaped by the skin of our teeth.
“Very strong team,” he continued as they will be taking on a team that turned its fortunes around after an 0-4 start into the season-ending conference. “Coach Yeng [Guiao] has them playing at a very high level.”
