DEFENSE IS KEY: TNT flexes new weapon in back-to-back Govs’ Cup conquest

Looking back head coach Chot Reyes credited TNT’s successful Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup title defense to his players buying in on the idea of committing to defense.

Reyes during the offseason worked on changing the Tropang Giga’s dynamics, focusing more on holding down their opponents instead of just outgunning them.

It was a potent weapon as TNT captured its 10th franchise championship overall in a six-game conquest of Barangay Ginebra.

The Tropang Giga shackled the Kings to just 11 points in the fourth quarter while igniting a closing 11-0 run for a 95-85 Game 6 victory that sealed the best-of-seven series rematch Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

But a season ago, TNT reached only as far as the quarterfinals of both the Commissioner’s Cup and the Philippine Cup last season. The culprit — its suspect defense.

“Our road really started with our loss against Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals last (Philippine Cup) conference. We thought were on the cusp of the Final Four and that loss made us take a look at our roster and make some changes,” Reyes said following his 10th career title to become the fourth PBA coach to reach double digit championships behind Ginebra mentor Tim Cone (25), Baby Dalupan (15) and Norman Black (11).

That series went the full three games with the Tropang Giga losing by just one point in the decider.

“When we sat down in our exit interview as a team, we missed our trip in the Final Four by one point in the deciding game and we did not have Jayson (Castro) in the game because Jayson was injured,” Reyes recalled.

“We did not have Rey Nambatac yet and we did not have Poy Erram as well. I thought when everyone came back (for Governors’ Cup), it bolstered our chances.”

Reyes brought back reliable import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, known as one of the best lockdown defenders aside from being a prolific scorer, and with a healthier Castro, Erram and the addition of Nambatac, TNT shocked the rest of the field with their defense.

The Tropang Giga topped the group stage, eliminated NLEX in the quarterfinals and got their payback on Rain or Shine in five games of the best-of-seven semifinals to set a rematch against the Ginebra.

Pitted against the best outside shooting team in the tournament, TNT’s defense took the long bombs out of the Kings with its stingy defense to take the first two games.

Although the Tropang Giga lost the next two matches that leveled the series, they bounced back mightily in a Game 5 blowout that saw Ginebra import Justin Brownlee limited to just eight points.

Then came TNT’s amazing fightback from 11 points down in the third quarter of Game 6 on its way to handing Reyes his first Governors’ Cup title.

“Again, this was one of the learnings from our last (playoffs) defeat. We’ve always been one of the top offensive teams in the league but we said, you know when our offense is off, if we’re not making our shots or one of our key guys is down, like what happened in our last qualifying game against Rain or Shine when Jayson went down and we couldn’t get our offense on track,” Reyes said.