In a Game 7 for the ages, the TNT Tropang Giga outlasted Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in overtime to claim the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup before a massive crowd.
The TNT Tropang Giga are sending a strong signal to the rest of the PBA.
The flagship franchise of the MVP group established themselves as the dominant team in the league after capturing their second straight title Friday night with a thrilling 87-83 Game 7 overtime win over crowd favorites Barangay Ginebra that netted them the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
It was only the second time in league history that a Game 7 in the finals was decided in overtime, according to PBA statistician Fidel Mangonon III. And if this wasn’t the best Game 7 in league history, it’s certainly right up there.
TNT coach Chot Reyes said it might be the best Game 7 he’s ever been associated with.
“Maybe because given the stakes, given the competition, given the fact that we were not complete, I guess. Plus the fact that it went to overtime, so maybe.”
There were six lead changes and six deadlocks, the last of which came with 16 seconds left after Justin Brownlee – who else? – hit another improbable triple in a PBA finals game that tied the score at 79 in regulation that sent the overflow crowd of 21,000 into a frenzy. TNT still had a chance to win it right then and there, but a hobbled Rondae Hollis-Jefferson missed badly with three seconds left.
It would have been understandable if the Tropang Giga would have wilted in overtime after such a crushing blow, but just as they had all conference long, they displayed a certain resiliency found only in champions.
Divine intervention
This epic win capped TNT’s comeback from a 2-3 series deficit, with all the momentum on the side of Barangay Ginebra. They took it one game at a time, and had to go through anxious moments in each game.
And while Reyes will awalys believe in his team, he couldn’t help but think that they got an big assist from above.
“First of all, I don’t think this was possible without some help from upstairs,” said Reyes, who now has 11 PBA championships. “My pre-game talk, I said, the gospel reading for today, when Jesus Christ was asked, what is the most important commandment? He said, the first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your understanding.
“And I said, that’s the way we should play today, with all our heart, with all our strength, with all our understanding. And he said, the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. And so I told the players, that’s the way we should play, selfless.”
“We have to play selfless basketball, not worry about our own stats, just about what’s best for our teammates. So, like I said, the players put in a hell of an effort, but just to be very honest, I don’t think this could have been possible without some help from upstairs. So, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind at this point.
“Just very, very thankful. We were very thankful to just be in this position. And now, of course, we’re doubly thankful for pulling out the victory.”
Ray Nambatac, who was named Finals MVP, capped a fine series with 22 points as he ably stepped in for the injured Jayson Castro. “I’m so blessed because in my career I’ve had ups and downs. I’ve been through a lot. Even this conference, when Kuya Jayson was injured, I knew that the pressure was on me. I don’t know how I was able to overcome that pressure. But then again, when I tried to embrace that challenge, that pressure, this was the outcome. I didn’t expect to be a Finals MVP because my focus, my mindset is just to be a back-to-back champion.”
Surviving Justin Brownlee
There was a stretch during the fourth quarter, though, when it appeared that The Man Upstairs was a Ginebra fan. The Tropang Giga trailed, 64-70, with 8:31 left. Moments later, the mercurial Poy Erram was slapped with a flagrant foul penalty 1 after elbowing Japeth Aguilar, forcing him to sit for three minutes.
But they kept their heads in the game, grabbing the lead with around five minutes left before Brownlee hit that huge triple from top of the key that momentarily knocked the wind out of the Tropang Giga’s sails.
“Just with pure guts,” Reyes said when asked how they survived Brownlee’s shot. “There’s no other way. Actually, the last four or five minutes of regulation, they called the timeout. I think Coach Tim (Cone) called the timeout. We were up by two, two or three points.
“And I said, at this point, there’s no more strategy. It’s just about grit and determination. Just about making stops and making the extra effort to create that stop.
“But unfortunately, Justin did what Justin does. Just makes those unbelievably difficult and great shots. How many times have we seen him do it to send it into overtime? But again, in the huddle in between the fourth quarter and the overtime, I said, ‘Hey, we’re okay. We’re okay. It’s a tight ball game. We’re still in this game.’ So I said, ‘Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose heart. We’re right in this ball game. Let’s just scratch and claw.’”
For Brownlee, his heroics in regulation went for naught. He had a chance to send the game into a second overtime, but he missed a four-point attempt in the dying seconds. The disappointment was palpable in his voice afterwards.
“We really felt like we could have closed it out,” he said. “But TNT is a good team, they got an incredible coach, Coach Reyes. And yeah, man, they just, for sure tonight, they were the better team. I mean, they won the game and they made some key plays. We thought we struggled a lot in that overtime.
“As far as trying to get a rhythm, but I just gotta credit TNT. They worked hard for it, and they earned it, and they deserved it. So congratulations to them, and moving forward for us, we just gotta regroup.”
RHJ’s injury
The Tropang Giga entered the series already a man down after Jayson Castro injured his knee in the semifinals. But unbeknownst to the public, Hollis-Jefferson almost joined The Blur on the sidelines.
“I think that was Game 4 of the semis where Rondae pulled his hamstring,” Reyes said. “So, we were really worried without Jayson and with Rondae hobbling. We didn’t know if we could get to the finals, but fortunately we did. And then in the finals, we’re playing a full strength, full force Ginebra squad.
“Great, well-constructed team, great coaching. And Rondae was not 100%, but I think it showed in his numbers. His shooting percentage was really way below his usual. But he helped us in so many other ways. Defensively, rebounding. And I think most importantly, in the spirit. Just his warrior spirit, the mentality that he just absolutely refuses to lose. And it rubs off on his teammates.”
RHJ’s injury was bad enough for TNT to consider replacing him with his brother, Rahlir.
“Actually, his brother was here all the time. The problem was, after Game 2 or Game 3, he got an offer. So, we had a long talk with Rondae Our thinking is, do we get a new guy who we’re going to teach everything that we’re trying to do? Or we go with a 70-75% guy who knows everything that we already want to do? So, we decided to go looking. Maybe we could fly somebody in. But in the end, we talked to him. And Rondae said no. He just told me, ‘Just manage my minutes. If they take out Justin, take me out as well.’ Which is a miracle because it never came out.”
In the end, the TNT Tropang Giga, undermanned and with an injured reinforcement, simply went back to the core value that kept them together and has resulted in two straight PBA titles.
“We were battling through so much adversity in the finals,” Reyes said. And that’s why when we got here in Game 7, that’s what we talked about in practice. Let’s enjoy this. We’re playing with house money, because nobody expected us to be here.
“I said, ‘Let’s just enjoy this. There’s nothing to lose. We committed to just support each other and stay positive.’ And we were able to find a way to win two games.”
Banner Images from PBA Media Bureau.