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| Coach Chot Reyes drew some inspiration for his pre-game talk to his now championship team from his Bible reading for Friday. PBA Images (file photo) |
MANILA--Coach Chot Reyes believed that it took a divine intervention for TNT to win the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals against Ginebra.
Both teams showed grit and heart in an instant classic witnessed by a season-high 21,274 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Friday night.
However, after a grueling 53-minute marathon that still went down the wire, the Tropang Giga emerged victorious, winning their second consecutive championship this season, and Reyes said they could have not done it without God's help.
"I don't think this was possible without some help from up there," Reyes said.
He then revealed that his devotional for Friday night became a tool for his motivation to his players for the do-or-die game.
"The gospel reading for [Friday], when Jesus Christ was asked what is the most important commandment, that the first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength, and understanding, and I said, 'That's the way we should play today: with all our heart, strength, and understanding.' And He said the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself, so I told the players, 'That's the way we should play: selfless. We have to play selfless basketball not worried about our own stats. It's just about what's best for our teammates,'" Reyes further said, quoting Matthew 22:35-39.
The final stats did not exactly feel like the Tropang Giga were selfless enough as the Gin Kings still had more assists than them, 17-16, even as the PLDT franchise also had more turnovers than assists.
However, it was TNT's defense which has been its mantra all season long that became pivotal in Game 7, holding Ginebra to only 38 percent shooting and forcing 24 turnovers with Justin Brownlee accounted for seven of them.
"The players put in a hell of an effort, but just to be very honest, I don't think this could have been possible without some help from up there," Reyes further said.
The Tropang Giga captured their 11th title since joining the league in 1990 under the Pepsi banner, the last three coming at the expense of the Gin Kings.
"We are very thankful to just be in this position, and we're doubly thankful for pulling out the victory," added Reyes, who was the architect in seven of TNT's chips.
The team is to meet its fans at Gateway Mall 2 also in Quezon City on Sunday night, right after some of them would finish attending masses and worship services in various churches.
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