Coach Chot Reyes had a feeling in his gut that they will play the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings in the finals.
And he was right, after the Gin Kings bounced back and quickly pulled off to a 126-99 triumph over North Port Batang Pier on Friday in Game 5 of the 49th Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
“I don’t think it’s any secret, we’re going to play Ginebra in the Finals. We all know how strong and how deep that team is,” said Reyes after Tropang Giga dispatched Rain or Shine by way of a 97-92 decision in Game 5 of their of their best-of-seven semis affair.
The Tropang Giga will have a week to prepare against the Gin Kings, with the best-of-seven finals set to begin on Friday.
“Now, we’re going to go and take a look and figure out how to best prepare ourselves for the Finals,” added Reyes.
This time, TNT will be in the finals without one of their reliable floor generals in Jayson Castro,
Castro will be out for a year after sustaining a right patellar tendon tear on his right knee.
“Very, very difficult,” said Reyes with TNT making adjustments on Castro’s absence.
Castro suffered the injury during Game 3 of their semifinal series against Rain or Shine last February 28 and has since underwent surgery.
Castro has been with the Tropang Giga since 2008 through nine championships.
“Jayson is much more than just the skills he brings to the table. It’s a lot of other things – leadership, maturity, reading the game. So, in a Finals, those are very, very important, those are critical elements,” said Reyes.