Despite taking Game One in commanding fashion, the TNT KaTropa and their head coach Jong Uichico remain wary about how the Meralco Bolts will respond in Game Two of the Best-of-Five semifinals series in the 2016 PBA Governors Cup.
Game Two is slated to tip-off at 7:00pm, Thursday evening, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“It’s just the first game, this is a series,” Katropa head coach Jong Uichico said, as he downplayed the 113-95 lambasting they gave Meralco in the series opener. “We’ll go back to the drawing board. We know Meralco can come back.”
“We can’t put our guards down. We haven’t accomplished anything yet.”
Despite MVP-candidate Jayson Castro being limited to “just” 14 points, the KaTropa displayed great ball movement, as five KaTropas were able to score double-digits in the win. They were led by Asian reinforcement Michael Madanly’s 20 markers and leading Rookie of the Year candidate Troy Rosario’s 16 points, including four triples.
“Jayson is a pillar for us and he has developed his game on both ends of the court. He can help us in so many ways not just scoring,” Uichico remarked about Castro who was able to dish out nine dimes in the game.
Uichico is right about Meralco’s threat as opposing head coach Norman Black and the Bolts will enter Game Two with a do-or-die mindset.
“It’s a do-or-die tomorrow because it will be almost impossible to come back from a 0-2 deficit,” Black said.
“Some of our main guys need to step up when needed if we are to compete with a team like TNT, who is number one for a reason. We need to make the necessary adjustments in the next games or it will be a short series for us,” added Meralco import Allen Durham, who finished Game One with 26 points and 21 points.
