There’s a challenge to the TNT Tropang Giga now that they are close to a title repeat in the 2022 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup best-of-seven title playoff.
The Tropang Giga have never won back-to-back games against the San Miguel Beermen until they did last Wednesday in Game 5.
TNT will now go into uncharted waters when they seek their third straight triumph in Game 6 of their championship clash with the Beermen at 5:45 p.m. today at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We knew we had to find a way to beat them two in a row. So, that first part is over. Now, we’ll see if we can repeat that,” said Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes, following a 102-93 triumph that gave them a 3-2 lead in the series.
It will be a more difficult encounter for the Tropang Giga, who will deal with the injuries that they have sustained in their last encounter.
They lost Jason Castro in the third quarter to a sprained left ankle, and one of their big men, JP Erram, played with an injured ankle as well.
“San Miguel made a couple of adjustments, offensively. And that’s what we expected,” said Reyes, who added that many of Castro’s teammates will have to step up again and do just like what Kelly Williams did in Game 5.
The 40-year-old Williams knocked in one of three key triples at two crucial moments to put the Tropang Giga ahead.
Stopping Best Player of the Conference JuneMar Fajardo will also be one of the Tropang Giga’s difficult missions.
But it won’t take just one person to do this, as Reyes will have to rely on team effort to once again deal with the 6’10” Fajardo.
“We have to correct what we did,” added Reyes after Fajardo went on to finish with 20 points and 16 rebounds, but was held to just to four points in the final period.
A win in Game 6 Friday will hand TNT its second consecutive crown.
If not, TNT and San Miguel Beer will go into Game 7 on Sunday to finally decide who gets the crown.
