Deon Thompson (with Ball) is one of the two players with whom TNT did not manage to win his last series with Rain Or Shine. —August dela Cruz
TNT and Rain or Shine collide, while Northport tests his courage against Barangay Ginebra on Tuesday, disgusting the ice on the final oven of the cup of the PBA commissioner.
The Tropang Giga n ° 2 and the Sixth Elasto painters meet in a series of semi-final for the best of seven, with TNT the obvious favorite thanks in large part to its rapid rain or shine during the last conference.
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But coach Chot Reyes was in this league so long that he knows that history really does nothing that is at hand.
“All the previous performances against them, they do not mean much,” he said before their match 1 which kicked at 5 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“They defeated us the last time,” said the champion coach, referring to the 106-96 swing that Tropang Giga endured to close their elimination campaign.
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Barangay Ginebra, like TNT, lost against his enemy in the semi-finals during the first phase of the tournament. But the Kings of Gin n ° 4 built a reputation – and an empire – to put things from a notch in the direct elimination phase.
And against a seeded Northport with a lot to prove, the darling of the crowd seek to make the conflict of 7 p.m..
The Gin Kings will have Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar and even Troy Rosario Fresh from five national functions, which means that they have played at a high level in the last two weeks.
However, Northport will have a lot to exploit, because they sucked the type of respect that in this league, only a championship can give.
“We will be outsiders”
“We have a chip on our shoulder that people don’t even talk about Northport even if we are n ° 1 (seeds),” said striker William Navarro.
“We will be outsiders whatever happens. But we are not satisfied (with upper sowing). We want more.
Meanwhile, a large part of Reyes’ concern comes from the recruit Caelangson and Deon Thompson, two out-of-competition painters who were not with the team when TNT sent rains or horizons in five games Final of the Governors Cup last year.
“They are very different. They are much more mature and also have a different importation, “said Reyes. “In the Governors’ Cup, they did not have tiongson, and he was great for them – a very big contributor.”
TNT has roughly the same team that delivered the title of the Governors Cup last season, and the more factor for Tropang Giga is the Rondae Hollis-Jefferson import and Gunner Calvin Oftana.
Hollis-Jefferson is n ° 2 in the best import race, while Oftana is fourth for the best player in the conference derby.
The rain or shine coach, Yeng Guiao, is impatiently awaiting this chance to solve the TNT puzzle and to give the franchise his first real championship shift since the 2016 season, when he ruled the same tournament .
“The experience of when we played them the last time, it gives us more wisdom – a better perspective – on how to prepare against them,” said Guiao.
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“I think we are more ready this time.” Inq
