Chot Reyes takes blame for TNT's slow start in semis opener win vs. Meralco

The TNT Tropang 5G may have escaped with a win against Meralco in Game 1 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals, but head coach Chot Reyes was quick to look inward.

The veteran coach accepted responsibility for the Tropang 5G's sluggish start that allowed the Bolts to seize early control of the game, leading by as many as 21 in the second quarter and taking a 62-46 halftime lead. 

"That’s on me because we've prepared a game plan that they picked apart," Reyes said.

"The players simply were following and executing the defensive game plan that we've prepared and Meralco just picked it apart. So that's on me."

A much-needed wake-up call in the dugout during the break snapped TNT out of its early funk, as the Tropang 5G suffocated Meralco to just 13 points in the third period and escaped with a 100–95 win.

But Game 1 hero Calvin Oftana, who tallied 28 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, stressed that Reyes never stopped reminding the team to double down on defense—even before and after the halftime break.

"Palagi kaming ginigising niyan e, sa bench pa lang, lalo na 'pag hindi kami dumidepensa," Oftana shared. 

"I'm happy with the way we played sa second half. 'Yung depensa namin. Happy for the team na nanalo but mahaba pa 'yung series e so hindi pa natin alam. We'll be ready for Game 2."

(He is always giving us a wakeup call, even on the bench, especially when we are not playing defense... I'm happy with the way we played in the second half. Our defense. Happy for the team that we won but the there's a lot of series left so we don't know. We'll be ready for Game 2.)

Reyes and Oftana both agreed, however, that they cannot afford another slow start in Game 2, especially with the Bolts expected to come out firing to even the series.

"They're chomping at the bit to get back at us and you saw that, with the kind of energy, execution, even their three-point shooting in the first half, they were really primed for it. So you know, we got a first-hand taste of that," Reyes added.

"Hopefully in Game 2, we are ready to play from the start because I don't think we can bring this kind of game to Game 2 and expect to come up with the same result. We have to definitely be better in Game 2."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News