ANTIPOLO – Roger Pogoy could only admit that life without Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has been difficult for TNT as the perennial contenders find themselves in the midst of a wobbly start into the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
The Tropang 5G on Sunday night absorbed their second loss in as many outings after falling to a 100-94 decision at the hands of Justine Baltazar and Converge, making them the only winless team in the conference.
“Honestly, galing tayo sa dalawang conference na nandoon si Rondae, so talagang nag-aadjust din kami,” the two-way specialist told reporters moments after emerging from the team’s dugout at the Ynares Center here.
One can’t actually put TNT at fault for the particular struggle, something that Ginebra could also relate to now that it’s missing Justin Brownlee.
The Tropa played both the Governors’ and Commissioner’s Cups of this season with the three-time Best Import, who led them to the crown on both occasions.
He’s indeed the reason why the franchise has a shot at a rare Grand Slam in the season-ending tilt, but they will have to do so without him — and Jayson Castro as well, as he won’t return until next year due to a knee injury.
With no one like the former NBA veteran to lean on, Pogoy could only lament how much they miss his presence on defense, most especially.
In the two games they’ve played so far, they’ve yielded a total of 191 points. They lost to NLEX in their conference debut by way of a 91-74 rout.
“Lalo na sa depensa, andun kaagad si Rondae sa ilalim eh. Ngayon, parang wala kami,” said Pogoy, whose team also enabled the FiberXers to shoot 51.9-percent from the floor toward notching their second win in a row.
Another problem has been rebounding, as they’ve allowed the opposing teams to grab 10 more rebounds on average in their two matches so far.
“Tsaka lahat ng rebound, kinukuha ni Rondae ‘di ba? Talo ata kami palagi sa rebound,” he said. “So talagang nag-aadjust din kami.”
But if there’s something that could keep TNT composed amidst this winless start, it’s their second-half showing against Converge, where they erupted for 30 points in the third quarter but fell just short of completing the comeback.
“Ang sama ng start. Parang ‘di namin makuha ‘yung laro namin eh. Pero buti naman nung second half talaga, doon medyo maganda-ganda,“said Pogoy, who had 15 points in the loss. “Nung first half talaga, ang sama.”
Plus, it remains early in the conference, and they’re actually no stranger to turning things around from a rough beginning to a tournament.
The Tropang 5G also started the recent Commissioner’s Cup with back-to-back losses, but managed to win six straight and eventually finished the eliminations as the second seed with an 8-4 record. And the rest is history.
Pogoy is well aware that it would be tougher to replicate as much this time, given the absence of important figures, but hope springs eternal, as they say.
“Sana ganun din ‘yung resulta,” he said.
#WATCH: Roger Pogoy admits TNT’s slow start hurt their chances against Converge as the Tropang 5G keep searching for rhythm in the #PBA2025 Philippine Cup 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/x8y6yPXcL3
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 27, 2025
