On the verge of finally returning to the finals after a few years, TNT KaTropa looks to get the job done and finish off defending champion Barangay Ginebra in their best-of-five semifinals tilt in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Ahead 2-0 in the series, the Tropang Texters go for the jugular against the Gin Kings when they meet again in Game 3 at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City today.
The Tropang Texters haven’t been in the finals for two years and they are now looking for the breakthrough that they are seeking for quite sometime.
Despite the excitement of being a game away from the finals, TNT is still very much wary of the Gin Kings’ bounce back ability.
“We expect Ginebra to come out strong,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena. “They are the defending champions, we don’t expect them to just give it to us so we need to be prepared.”
TNT followed up its tight Game 1 win with a resounding dominance in Game 2 to take the commanding lead over Ginebra.
Behind some torrid three-point shooting, the Tropang Texters emphatically manhandled the Gin Kings in Game 2, 88-71, last Sunday night.
TNT hit a total of 16 triples as Ginebra was unable to find any answers.
The last time the Tropang Texters made a finals’ appearance was back in the same tournament in 2017 when they lost, 2-4, to then champion San Miguel Beer.
In three games they’ve played this conference, Ginebra has yet to win one against TNT and it now needs to chalk up one to keep its title defense alive.
“We’ll see what we can do,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “We’re back to the drawing board for Game 3.”