PUT yourself in the players’ shoes.
This became the mantra of TNT Tropang Giga coach Jojo Lastimosa in developing a great rapport with his players over the last four months and eventually laying claim to the Philippine Basketball Association Governors Cup.
These made Tropang Giga look tougher and more solid against the seasoned Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings in the final series.
“You just need to communicate to the players. The players will understand, and they will always understand,” said Lastimosa as their title conquest finally sunk in him following their 97-93 triumph in Game 6 on Friday evening at the Araneta Coliseum.
Lastimosa recalled his heydays as a player in the league, from Purefoods Hotdogs, the Pop Cola Panthers, and then to Alaska Aces who was then under Tim Cone.
In college, Lastimosa earned his spurs with the Ateneo de Manila and with the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu.
Lastimosa grew as a player when he won the MVP honors while playing for Mama’s Love in the first conference of the 1985 Philippine Amateur Basketball League.
And then, as a teammate of Samboy Lim with the Lhuillier Jewelers, won the championship of the PABL’s first conference the following year.
While in the PBA, Lastimosa recalled that he would get angry when he would be substituted and replaced on the floor by another player, and other tasks were done with no explanation from the coaches.
“Nag-aaway kami ni Tim(Cone) before sa finals. Daming beses kaming nagsisigawan sa labas ng locker room. That’s because there were things that I wanted to happen, kaso, hindi na-eexplain sa coach. Even in the 1998 Asian Games, we had disagreements. So, that’s why I learned from this as coach,” added Lastimosa.
PROLIFIC PAIR
Two TNT players stood out in the end, with a triple from the mighty pair of Mikey Williams and prolific import Rondae Hollis Jefferson’s two charities providing the needed points to keep the Gin Kings from taking their fifth Governors’ Cup plum.
Hollis-Jefferson tallied eight of his 29 points in the final period, including the final two freebies in the last 3.2 seconds off Jamie Malonzo’s foul.
The 6’6” Hollis-Jefferson’s charities connected moments after he rebounded Brownlee’s miss with four ticks left.
Williams, who eventually earned the Finals MVP honors, finished with a game-high 38 points for the Tropang Giga, to go with a career-high nine triples, along with seven boards and three assists.
The 6’2” Williams reached a personal milestone with his treys when he knocked in a ninth three-pointer in the final 1:15, allowing TNT to overtake the Gin Kings for a 15th time.
Brownlee, who missed most of the second half in Game 6 due to a bum stomach, still led the Gin Kings with 29 points.
He was looking to force a tie in the final 30.6 seconds, but Hollis-Jefferson managed to grab a rebound off his drive, and with TNT ahead, 95-93.
The Tropang Giga, who ended the series with a 4-2, claimed their first Governors Cup crown, and after foiling the Gin Kings’ bid for a fifth one.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
Lastimosa believes that his talks with some of the players proved to be the key to the Tropang Giga’s success.
“The coaches do not explain why players get pulled out. For me, it was the same way when I was playing,” added Lastimosa.
And this brought the team, and him a great championship experience.
“Ginebra hadn’t lost two in a row this conference, much less lose three in a row. So that’s what we talked about before the game. That was my pregame talk. But if there’s somebody who can beat them, it’s the team that I’m with right now. And again, it’s not an easy task. A lot of teams tried to beat Tim (Cone) and (Justin) Brownlee at this stage, and they never did. I knew that we had to come up with a better game plan or at least a better game to dethrone them,” added Lastimosa.
Cone took his time to leave the locker room after the loss. And when he did, he said he felt that it was Williams’ triple that doomed them.
“They played really well. They certainly deserved it more than we did,” said Cone.
Cone said Barangay Ginebra had gone through a lot of struggles, with LA Tenorio’s getting diagnosed with cancer, Japeth Aguilar suffering a knee injury and Justin Brownlee suffering from food poisoning in Game 5.
Despite the hindrances that came their way, the Kings never lost their will to go for another title.
“The journey was arduous. We’re going to remember it for many reasons. Most especially because of LA. The courage that LA showed throughout this whole thing, coming to games, being around. It was really inspiring to watch. He’s such an inspiring person. We had our chances. We had some bad luck. Justin’s food poisoning” said Cone.