Nothing else matters for TNT as long as they are in the playoff race.
That is what second-year forward Troy Rosario pointed out after TNT sent themselves back to the win column by earning a needed victory over Mahindra Floodbuster, 104-92, Wednesday night.
Looking back, TNT suffered two straight losses — one in the hands of NLEX, 110-98, and just recently against Star, 88-77. These losses hurt their chances of assuring themselves a two two spot in the playoffs.
But those setbacks can now be buried in the past, as the KaTropa — now tied at fourth with Blackwater in the team standings with a 5-4 card — have finally found their old selves after the 12-point win tonight.
The six-foot-seven Rosario, moments after the match, admitted that there had been a sense of urgency on their part prior to playing against the surging Mahindra squad.
“Start pa lang nung game nandoon na yung sense of urgency kasi once na matalo kami talagang babagsak na kami,” said the 6-foot-5 stretch four.
“Kailangan talaga naming manalo sa game na ‘to. Good thing naging maganda yung second half namin,” added Rosario, who was pivotal in TNT’s second half surge by scoring 15 of his 18 markers in the half alone.
With their fifth victory in nine outings already in the books, TNT are now back up in the standings and find themselves in a better spot as far as playoff positioning is concerned.
Their last two matches in the elimination round will be against Globalport and San Miguel. A win against both these teams will give them a strong chance of ending the round as the Top 2 seed.
But for Rosario and TNT, finishing the elims as the Top 2 is far from their minds. Their main concern for now is to lock themselves a spot into the next round.
“Ngayon siguro wala na sa isip namin yung pumasok sa top 2. Pumasok sa next round yun talaga yung focus namin eh. Pag pumasok ka doon, kung sino yung makatapat mo yun nalang ang focus mo.”
