TNT opens title quest vs HK club

Games today:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5 p.m. — Meralco vs Terrafirma

7:30 p.m. — Eastern vs TNT

TNT marches back into the battlefield after a well-deserved rest following a successful title defense in the season-opening tournament of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 49.

Hoping to ride the momentum of their title conquest last month, the Tropang Giga seek to start on the right foot in their Commissioner’s Cup campaign against no less than formidable guest team Hong Kong Eastern today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m. following the 5 p.m. tipoff between curtain-raiser protagonists unbeaten Meralco and winless Terrafirma.

TNT is bringing in the same crew led by reinforcement Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to extend its success in the Governors’ Cup into the mid-season tournament.

The Tropang Giga is coming off a grueling finals series where it defeated Barangay Ginebra in an exciting six-game faceoff.

TNT coach Chot Reyes admits that winning the crown in the last tournament was no walk in the park. The challenges TNT will encounter in this competition will be tougher.

“We already see the teams beefing up. We already know one team that is already beefed up considerably. If the Governors’ Cup was difficult, I find the Commissioner’s (Cup) is going to be doubly, if not, 10 times more difficult,” Reyes said.

The Tropang Giga barely made it to the quarterfinals of the conference’s last edition, taking the eighth spot. They were eliminated by top seed and eventual runner-up Magnolia.

Hollis-Jefferson, who won his second straight Best Import award last conference, is a man on a mission to settle an unfinished business after being forced to the sideline by an injury in the previous edition. He was replaced by his brother Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson.

On the other hand, Hong Kong craves a mighty recovery after seeing its two-game streak snapped by Rain or Shine, 81-99, last Wednesday.

Eastern playmaker Glenn Yang is expected to be back on commission after sitting out the previous game due to passport issues.

Cameron Clark, who fired 30 points and grabbed 12 boards in a lost cause last game, Yin Lung Cheung and Sheik Sulaiman will lead Hong Kong to get back on the winning track.