Most of TNT KaTropa’s wins in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations came in blowout fashion. Their average winning margin in the 10 of 11 games they won was 15.0 points – easily the highest in the conference.
But in the playoffs, TNT have not reached the same margin. And they had their closest win of the mid-season joust in Game One of the semifinals on Friday night, a 95-93 victory over defending champs Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Troy Rosario admitted that he and the Texters have gotten used to building big leads early in the game then sustaining this until the final buzzer. But for him, this will be a good test for the team’s character as a whole.
“Nung eliminations, parang nasanay kami na first half pa lang, blowout na agad, tapos tuloy-tuloy na. Ngayon talaga yung tunay na test kasi playoffs. Win by double-digits or hindi, talagang importante sa’min,” said Rosario.
“Risky, pero doon mo talaga mate-test kung saan made of yung team eh,” added the 6-foot-7 forward.
Still, the semis are definitely a time for teams to make plenty of adjustments all series long. TNT are no exception, said Rosario, since they will have to adapt as the series goes on.
One constant adjustments is providing support to import Terrence Jones, who has been the KaTropa’s driving force in the eliminations. He posted per-game averages of 33.7 points, 16.1 rebounds, and 7.8 assists.
Thus far, TNT’s locals are doing a good job. Four locals finished in double figures in the Game One victory, with Rosario himself at the forefront with 24 points, on top of 10 rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
“Kailangan din namin mag-adjust kasi alam namin buong eliminations freely nakaka-score si Terrence. Ngayon yung tawagan tight na rin eh, so hindi na niya nakukuha ying mga tawag na nakukuha niya – ngayon talagang playoff foul na,” Rosario said.
“Kailangan din namin mag-adjust kasi ‘pag dinouble siya, kailangan namin mag-contribute. Buti ngayon nakakapag-contribute kami.”
