TNT chases history, San Miguel out for redemption in Philippine Cup finals duel

The TNT Tropang 5G and the San Miguel Beermen will chase different stories when they duke it out in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup finals. 

The Tropang 5G will be gunning to complete their date with a Grand Slam — a feat no team has accomplished in more than a decade — while the Beermen are out to prove they remain a formidable team despite missing the playoffs altogether last conference. 

But the two squads are taking it one game at a time, especially with both teams coming off grueling semifinals series. 

TNT is facing adversity particularly when it comes to health. 

The Tropang 5G are already without the backcourt tandem of Rey Nambatac (groin) and Jayson Castro (knee) while RR Pogoy also went down with a hamstring injury that forced him to miss most of the semifinals against Rain or Shine. 

Kelly Williams also hurt his ankle in Game 4, leaving TNT with a depleted roster. But head coach Chot Reyes believes the fact that they still made it to the finals is a testament to their resilience. 

"The adversity that we went through was really a testament to the fighting spirit of the players. They just refused to give up. Ayaw tayalag bumigay e, miski na pwede na we could have called it a day," Reyes said. 

"We will just do what we’ve been doing in the past two conferences, we will just keep fighting."

San Miguel, meanwhile, isn't thinking of being the team standing in the way of TNT's Grand Slam hopes. For the Beermen, they just hope to get back on top of the league. 

"They are strong, they won two championships in the last two conferences. But our team is here to redeem ourselves, especially the last conference na we’re not able to make it to the playoffs," San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said.

"It’s enough for the players to realize na it’s hard to be at the bottom of the standings. We’re here not to stop their ambition."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News