Justin Chua’s absence could pose more problems for Ginebra than TNT.
As tough as losing the bruising big man is due to a knee injury, the Tropang Giga are all set to play small ball for the rest of the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup, which may actually help the club in its quest to upset the three-peat seekers.
“I think Tim said in the papers that is the lineup that he has problems with because he will have to extend C-Stan [Christian Standhardinger] to guard our power forward, and Calvin is a shooter,” said head coach Jojo Lastimosa.
“That takes them away from what they do best.”
The cage legend turned mentor was referring to Kings counterpart Tim Cone’s comments shortly after the series opener last Sunday, where the Tropa had to play small when Chua went down early and Poy Erram eventually fouled out.
Although they won that night, the owner of 25 league titles expressed concern about how that kind of lineup causes problems, particularly with Calvin Oftana playing power forward as he creates ‘all kinds of mismatches.’
Oftana had 16 points and six rebounds in Game 1.
“Calvin at the four is really tough,” Cone said. “He really causes all kinds of mismatches, and they are super quick.
“Kind of like the death squad of the Golden State Warriors when they all play small–what do they call them?”
“It’s like the Warriors when they go small on certain stretches, they have Draymond Green at the center, and they’re really tough because they’re so quick,” he added, referring to the Golden State Warriors ‘Death Lineup.’
The sophomore forward continued to give Ginebra headaches on Wednesday night, finishing with 14 points–sparked by a pair of triples–alongside 13 rebounds and two steals to help deliver the series-tying 95-82 victory.
What Cone said last Sunday was proven as TNT relied on its quickness and outside shooting, its main weapons ever since, with Mikey Williams and Roger Pogoy knocking down timely shots in crunch time to finish off the Kings.
“They’re tough to defend when they can spread the court like they do,” said Cone moments after the loss, as their rivals rifled in 15 three-pointers–that’s after making just nine of their 35 attempts back in Game 1.
Now, it’s up to Ginebra to adjust to this ‘test’ as the series continues.
“That’s something we’re going to have to continue to figure out as the series goes along,” said Cone. “It’s just something that’s a test for us to see if we can overcome. It’s a series. We have a bunch of games to play.
“It’s back and forth. We’ll see what we can do coming back.”
Lastimosa isn’t too confident about his chances as well.
While it’s good news that Kelly Williams has been cleared to play in Game 3 on Friday, the seasoned bench tactician remains unsure of what they can get from the former MVP as he’s coming off a calf injury.
Regardless, the Tropang Giga are ready, he said.
“The good news is Kelly will be cleared to play on Friday. But we don’t know how much we’re going to get from Kelly. So if he can give us a few valuable minutes, then that’s going to be a welcome sight,” Lastimosa said.
“But we’re ready to play with our small lineup, with Calvin at the four, Glenn [Khobuntin] at the three,” the 59-year-old added.
“Let’s see how it goes. But I still have a big lineup to put in.”
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The 2023 PBA Governors Cup Finals is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
