Keeping poise bears fruit as TNT gets crucial PBA Govs' Cup Finals Game 5 win

Coach Chot Reyes told TNT not to show signs of panic in Game 5 despite blowing its 2-0 lead in the PBA Governors' Cup Finals. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--Already halfway through a sweep of the PBA Governors' Cup Finals, TNT went through a reality check after Ginebra held them to only 73 points in Game 3 and dropped a series-high 106 on them in Game 4 as the best-of-seven affair was cut to a best-of-three.

However, just like how coach Chot Reyes did not press the panic button early in the third quarter of Game 2, he said that he told his players to calm their senses as the Gin Kings were expected to bounce back strong after going down 0-2.

"That was the most important thing: for us not to panic and keep our heads around us so that we could make good decisions," Reyes said after Game 5 on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

"A lot of the things in a series like this is your ability to just keep your poise, so we just told the players to relax... and now, let's reply and retaliate."

After tallying 17 turnovers in Game 4, the Tropang Giga made better decisions in Game 5, only committing eight errors even as their defense returned to top form to clobber the Gin Kings, 99-72, in front of 12,727 fans.

Ginebra actually had a chance to explode at the start of the third quarter just like its 16-2 run in Game 2, going on a 5-0 mini-rally.

However, already learning its lesson, TNT quickly doused Ginebra's early third-period run and even opened a 31-point lead later in the quarter.

"We talked about it at halftime, and we told them to be prepared especially in the first five minutes for a big Ginebra run because you cannot keep a good team like that down," Reyes said.

"Because we talked about it and we prepared, we knew what to do on the return."

Now, the Tropang Giga have a shot at finishing off the Gin Kings in Game 6 on Friday night back at "The Big Dome".

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