Bad habits plagued the TNT Katropa during their game against the NLEX Road Warriors, Friday evening. For the first 24 minutes of the game, the Katropa were not communicating on defense — allowing NLEX to shoot a blistering 60 percent from the field and 9-for-16 from range — while playing selfish basketball — attempting 19 triples.
In addition, NLEX held a 76-53 lead entering the break.
“We were down and [playing] without the mentality of playing defense,” first-year TNT head coach Nash Racela lamented.
“Marami, especially on defense. Sobrang lazy namin sa defense.
“Umaasa kami sa offense namin na mag-click and then at the same time, once nakaka-shoot sila, yung mga tough shots, nada-down kami,” added nine-year TNT veteran Jayson Castro.
But much to Racela’s surprise, his team had already been strategizing in the locker room even before he got in.
“It was the players who talked before I entered the dugout. They were already talking with each other, trying to find ways to rally back,” Racela said about what went on during the halftime break.
“It was them who suggested things and it started working out in the second half.”
Leading that huddle and eventual Katropa takeover was Castro himself. This time, he made sure that he walked the talk, leading by example.
“Kasi ‘yun nga, kung ‘di ko gagawin ‘yun, ‘di rin susunod ‘yung teammates ko, especially ‘yung mga young guys namin,” the 30-year-old floor general said.
“Sabi ni coach, ‘maging example ka sa kanila. Huwag mong ipakita na nag-gigive up ka na.'”
Slowly, Castro and his team started chipping away at the once 29-point lead — the largest deficit Castro has had to overcome. During that furious rally, he scored 13 of his game-high 32 points in the last 17 minutes of the game. And he did it with his head literally down.
“Oo, parang. May mga past games pero parang mga 17 lang ‘yun, 18. Pero heto, sobrang laki talaga,” the six-time PBA champion recalled.
“At saka nung start nung 3rd quarter, parang pagtingin namin sa score… ‘yun din yung parang pinoint out ko: Wag na lang tignan ‘yung score.”
And once they were able to send the game into extra time, they zoomed past NLEX to take a 126-121 win — their third win in four games. But for TNT’s skipper, this game should serve as a lesson to them as they try to win the one thing that has eluded them for the last two years: a championship.
“Isa yun sa mga [pinopoint out] ko: Miss or made, ganun parin yung intensity ng defense namin, pagbalik namin sa offense at pag execute ng mga plays, dapat ‘yun nga, high energy,” Castro stressed.
“Dapat alam naman namin ‘yung kakayahan namin.”
