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February 26, 2025 | 12:00am
But first things first. The immediate goal is taking care of business in the semifinals against tough cookie Rain or Shine. It’s a best-of-seven affair that starts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today. Both teams have won three of their last four. In TNT’s case, the loss in that stretch was to the Elasto Painters. In ROS’ case, the setback was to Converge in Game One of their quarterfinal series.
STAR / File
It’s too early to dream of a Grand Slam but for TNT as the only PBA team with the chance for a three-peat, conjuring visions of achieving the milestone feat is a huge motivator. The Tropa bagged the Governors’ Cup crown for the first jewel of the season. Now, TNT’s in the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals and four wins away from advancing to the finals for a shot at championship No. 2. If coach Chot Reyes’ troops pocket a second gem, a Grand Slam will be within reach in the third conference.
But first things first. The immediate goal is taking care of business in the semifinals against tough cookie Rain or Shine. It’s a best-of-seven affair that starts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today. Both teams have won three of their last four. In TNT’s case, the loss in that stretch was to the Elasto Painters. In ROS’ case, the setback was to Converge in Game One of their quarterfinal series.
ROS is in what you could call a version of the Hunger Games. The Elasto Painters haven’t won a PBA title since the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup. The road to the semis was rough for ROS which survived two back-to-back knockout skirmishes with Converge in the quarters despite a lower seeding. Coach Yeng Guiao, however, wouldn’t have liked it any other way. He relishes tough challenges and against TNT, the challenge couldn’t be tougher.
One thing going for ROS is TNT’s leading local scorer Calvin Oftana is coming off a grueling grind with Gilas. Reyes relies heavily on Oftana who’s averaging 18.9 points and 35:07 minutes. If he’s still recovering from the whirlwind trip that took Gilas to Doha, Taipei and Auckland within nine days traveling through different time zones, Oftana won’t play too many minutes in Game One.
Guiao’s advantage is a deep rotation with only Deon Thompson logging at least 30 minutes a game compared to three players from TNT. All 15 players have started for Guiao whose trademark is unpredictability in deploying combinations. It’s a reason why ROS leads the league in bench points at 46.9. TNT, in contrast, is last in that department at 24.7.
What Guiao has to address is ROS’ inability to protect the interior as it’s last in paint points allowed at 50.3. That stat is glaring and Reyes will no doubt take note in aligning his forces to aggressively attack the rim.
How Reyes will strategize to contain Deon Thompson and how Guiao plans to muzzle Rondae Hollis-Jefferson should be fun to analyze. Thompson is a blue-collar worker who fits Guiao’s system. RHJ is an all-around fireball whose energy level is off the charts. TNT is No. 2 in the league in fastbreak points and will try to create pace by forcing ROS into errors. ROS is No. 1 in least turnovers so that poses a severe test for TNT’s defenders. It’ll be a battle between a team with a Grand Slam ambition and a team hungry for glory.
