ANTIPOLO — Now, it’s all about getting the job done for TNT and Magnolia to formalize their entry to the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Both the perennial contenders have positioned themselves in favorable spots after pushing their higher-seeded foes to do-or-die matches later at the Ynares Center here after flipping the script in the quarters’ opener last Wednesday.
According to Casino Plus sportsbook, as of 1 p.m. today, both the Road Warriors and the Bolts are +2.5 underdogs against their lower-seeded opponents.
Bets can be made here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
The Tropang 5G dragged the no. 1 NLEX to a knockout, and the Hotshots would follow suit later by doing the same against the fourth-ranked Meralco.
Chot Reyes and the defending conference champions have already conditioned their minds as early as the latter part of the eliminations that they will have to beat somebody twice in a row if they are to keep their ‘back-to-back’ bid alive.
No doubt that it worked even if they came into the playoffs in a three-game skid, with TNT drawing inspired performances from mainstays Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, and Jayson Castro to give Bol Bol the support he’s been needing.
“I think this is the first game in the whole conference that we had those three other guys in double figures. Hindi magsabay-sabay na maganda ang laro ni Calvin, Roger, and Jayson eh,” the multiple-time Coach of the Year said.
Definitely, they’d want to replicate as much–or even exceed–in their most important game of the tournament to date against a Road Warriors side keen on rectifying the mistakes they committed in their previous encounter.
Fouls in particular are one thing that Coach Jong Uichico & Co. would be watching closely after committing a total of 27 fouls, including 17 in just the first half, which made it difficult for the crew to generate any momentum.
It’s that very problem that plagued Robert Bolick, who fouled out of the game still with 4:33 left in the game, leaving the team without its ultimate closer as the Tropa went on to finish strong behind the 7-foot-3 former NBA pro.
As tough as it was, the 10-2 NLEX finds solace in the fact that it still has one more opportunity to pick itself up and not fully waste the twice-to-beat.
“Ganun talaga ang playoffs,” the nine-time league champion said. “You make mistakes, review, and adjust. Then, you hope for the best in the next game.”
Game time is set at 7:30 p.m. as they’re at the main event this time, with the Meralco-Magnolia bout opening the double-header affair at 5:15 p.m.
(C) PBA Images
And that’s surely going to be a solid appetizer for the all-MVP showdown, as they’re figuring in the final battle of a trilogy that began in the penultimate meeting of the elimination round last May 10 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Sure, the Bolts still clinched the fourth-seed and the win-once incentive, but the Hotshots have leveled the playing field, having won the last two games.
After a convincing 93-76 in Game One, Coach LA Tenorio and his men went on to show better poise three nights later before pulling off the 95-89 decision, with Clint Chapman coming through to repel Meralco’s rally from 19 down.
Needless to say, momentum is on the side of Magnolia– the team is now in the midst of a four-game winning run–but the former star guard refuses to get that into his wards’ heads, for he knows how dangerous a team Meralco is.
“We’re playing a great team, a very well-coached team, a very systematic team,” he said, clearly speaking from experience during his Ginebra days.
“I should know, because I always play against this team in the playoffs. I know how they play in the playoffs, with the vets that they have right now.”
According to Casino Plus sportsbook, the over/under for the NLEX-TNT clash is set at 192.5, while the Meralco versus Magnolia game has a point total spread of 186.5.
