TNT'S LOCAL SUPPORT DESTROYED NLEX

I don’t like the idea of the TNT Tropang 5G beating the NLEX Road Warriors simply because Robert Bolick never got his game going.

With the loss, I doubt if Berto and June Mar Fajardo can now run away with the BPC race, especially with the spotlight shifting toward what feels like an all-Ginebra battle between RJ Abarrientos and Scottie Thompson. You turn to Abarrientos for the scoring, then look at Thompson for literally everything else. Sure, there are still wildcards in the race like TNT’s Calvin Oftana, Meralco’s CJ Cansino, and Rain or Shine’s Adrian Nocum, but right now, it feels like the conference’s top individual award is leaning toward a Ginebra player.

And speaking of Oftana, this is why I want to come back to the first point of this blog.

During the elimination round, Bol Manute Bol was so dominant that people almost forgot that TNT’s core is made up of certified playoff pit bulls. I mentioned this in a previous blog: while TNT can always go old-school and feed the ball to Bol, Chot Reyes still has to find ways to involve his battle-tested and eternally title-hungry veterans.

And involved they were.

From having just one double-digit scoring local in the eliminations, TNT suddenly had three against NLEX, with both RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro nearly doubling their usual production. Playoff Pogoy and Playoff Blur are just different animals. Pogoy punished smaller defenders in the post, helped contain Bolick, and, of course, drilled those trademark stone-cold clutch bombs. Castro may have slowed down compared to his peak years, but the guy is still defying Father Time with his drives and deep shots.

If this version of TNT carries over into the Meralco series, then the defending champs should feel good about their chances. There’s already a mix of familiarity and dominance between these two franchises dating back to Meralco’s takeover of the Sta. Lucia franchise before the 2010-11 PBA season.

TNT TROPANG 5G	ELIMS	QF1	QF2
BOL MANUTE BOL	38.17	34	35
CALVIN OFTANA	14.00	19	20
RR POGOY	7.88	15	21
B. GANUELAS-ROSSER	8.70	5	8
JAYSON CASTRO	6.58	14	14
JORDAN HEADING	8.30	0	6
REY NAMBATAC	5.25	7	5
HENRY GALINATO	4.25	2	0
GLENN KHOBUNTIN	3.40	0	9

And when you think about it, TNT’s supporting cast has quietly stepped up, too, even if not as consistently as Oftana, Castro, and Pogoy. In Game 1, Schonny Winston and Ljay Gonzales struggled to make an impact for NLEX because of the defensive pressure from Jordan Heading and Rey Nambatac. Then there’s rookie "magic bunot" Sean Quitevis, who somehow turned into a defensive menace whose main mission was to ruin shooters’ nights.

Yes, Gonzales and Winston are still in their late 20s and are practically viewed as “kids” by PBA standards, but both already have big-game experience. Winston had his moments in the finals with the De La Salle Green Archers, while Gonzales led the Quezon Huskers to two MPBL Finals appearances.

Add Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Glenn Khobuntin into the mix, and suddenly you realize that maybe topping the eliminations was more of a curse if the reward is facing the defending champions in the playoffs.

And in some weird twist of basketball irony, Bol Manute Bol picking up three quick fouls may have actually helped TNT. It forced the rest of the core to wake up. At the same time, it pushed NLEX into the exact situation many feared TNT would fall into in the playoffs — endlessly spamming the ball to the import while everyone else stood around watching.

Yes, Cady Lalanne exploded for 46 points, backed by Winston’s 24 and Bolick’s 16, but the rest of the team combined for just 23 points.

So at this point, it’s safe to say that while Bol Manute Bol remains the centerpiece of TNT’s offense, the team still needs at least three locals contributing offensively for the system to work truly. Oftana, Castro, and Pogoy might already be enough, but if TNT gets consistent production from one more player, then things could get very scary.