When coach Nash Racela took over TNT Katropa’s coaching reins from Jong Uichico, it was inevitable that changes will take place.
The 45-year-old mentor, who served as Far Eastern University’s head coach for three years and saw them win the UAAP crown in 2015, has always advocated the power of youth in basketball.
And that philosophy of Racela is becoming evident with the way he is running things for the MVP-owned franchise, as a handful of young players are delivering for the Katropa.
TNT’s youth-oriented approach to the game was best exemplified Wednesday night in their down-the-wire victory over Globalport Batang Pier, 102-98, at the Cuneta Astrodome.
In the win that sent them to their 11th straight playoff appearance in the All-Filipino conference, Roger Pogoy and Troy Rosario — a rookie and a sophomore — were the stars of TNT’s victory.
Pogoy, the Katropa’s draft pick in the 2016 draft, paced TNT with a team-high 20 points on a decent 8-of-16 shooting from the floor to go along with four rebounds, one steal, and a block.
But what was glaring among Pogoy’s stat line was his plus/minus rating, where he had a rating of plus-16 — a rating he earned early in the fourth quarter that saw TNT rally to a 19-0 run en route to a 95-73 lead.
And with the FEU alumnus’ stellar play, Racela lauded his guard’s performance.
“When somebody asked me about RR before the game, sabi ko Roger will be a given in terms of his effort on defense. It’s just a bonus for him to score. Malaking bigay ito sa amin,” said Racela.
But for the 24-year-old shooting guard out of Cebu, he is just giving back the trust given to him by his mentor.
“Binalikan ko lang si Coach Nash kasi rookie pa lang ako, [pero] may tiwala na siya sa’kin,” shared Pogoy.
“Kaya it’s time to give back kay Coach Nash at magpakita para ‘di mawala tiwala niya.”
Rosario, on the other hand, also made his presence felt for Racela and TNT.
The second overall pick of the 2015 Draft scored just six markers, but his last two points from the foul line with 3.9 ticks to go was enough to shut the door for a Globalport comeback attempt.
Aside from his single-digit score, Rosario also collared eight rebounds and dished three assists. And similar to the younger Pogoy, his plus/minus rating in the match was a noteworthy one.
The 25-year-old, in the 31 minutes he logged on the floor, earned a game-high rating of plus-23.
Rosario, however, said that he just stuck with the team’s gameplan against Globalport.
“Yun taga yung gameplan. Mabibilis ang Globalport, kaya kailangan namin pantayan yung bilis nila,” explained the six-foot-six wingman out of National University.
Pogoy and Rosario’s showings speak volumes to Racela’s youth movement into the multi-title squad. However, Racela iterated that the younger stalwarts still has to learn many things, especially ekeing out wins.
“We need to learn how to win ball games. If you noticed, we had [Matt] Ganuelas, Pogoy, and Rosario in the end game. For them to have a chance to play in the end game, they need to learn,” Racela pointed.
Flaws will always be present whenever progress comes along. But nevertheless, the major involvement of the young guns is definitely working for TNT — a development that may even help them re-establish their stature as an elite team in the league.
