A rare grand slam awaits the TNT Tropang 5G should they win the crown in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals’ showdown with the San Miguel Beermen.
TNT has won the championships of the Governors’ Cup and the Commissioners’ Cup during the 49th season at the expense of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings.
For Tropang 5G coach Chot Reyes, battling the Beermen for a season sweep and a Grand Slam in the 49th season will be a different experience.
Action on Sunday between the Tropang 5G and the Beermen is set at 7:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.
“The adversity that we went through is a testament to the fighting spirit of the players. Marami nang nangyari sa mga players, pero ayaw bumigay after winning two championships,” said Reyes, who took back the TNT head-coaching position starting in the Philippine Cup last year, with Jojo Lastimosa keeping his role as team manager.
Reyes was the former coach of the then Tropang Giga, a job he relinquished to focus on the Gilas Pilipinas head coaching job during the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup.
“And now, we’re here, we’ve given ourselves a chance. Ngayon, napakalakas ng kalaban namin. We just need to do what we’ve been doing the whole conference and keep on fighting,” said Reyes as he talked about TNT’s chances against the Beermen during a pre-finals’ conference on Friday at the Chardonnay Events Place in Pasig City.
But the Beermen are out to crash the Tropang 5G’s party.
The SMBeermen, who are seeking their seventh title with Leo Austria as their coach, are aiming to bounce back big time after missing the finals of the last two conferences.
“It’s nice to be back in the finals. It’s a different story. The other team is equally strong. TNT has won two different championships. But we’re here to redeem ourselves,” said Austria.
The San Miguel Corp. franchise has done it once and will be aiming to do it again – deny the MVP group a Grand Slam.
In 2011, TNT, then known as the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, had won the season’s first two conferences, but was stopped on their tracks by Petron in seven games in the Governors’ Cup.
The Beermen themselves have completed a Grand Slam in 1989 behind a powerhouse roster that included PBA greats Ramon Fernandez, Hector Calma, and Samboy Lim.
And now, that rare feat is within reach by Reyes and the Tropang 5G.
Injuries, however, have hounded the Tropang 5G, with Roger Pogoy missing the TNT’s semifinals series vs Rain or Shine
Tropang 5G made it to the finals last Sunday after beating Rain or Shine, 97-89, to finish the series at 4-2.
The Beermen, behind June Mar Fajardo and Chris Ross, earned the second finals’ berth with their 100-93 win over Ginebra in Game 7 of the semis series on Wednesday, after tallying a 4-3 best-of-seven record.
