COACH Chot Reyes could not be faulted for adopting a cautious approach when his TNT crew take on Meralco Thursday in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Both the Tropang Giga and Bolts sport identical 5-1 slates in Group A with the former also boasting of a 93-73 conquest of the same team the first time they met.
What should add fuel to the anticipated fire is the fact that the protagonists' aspirations of making it through to the quarterfinals outright are also practically on the line.
Tournament format calls for the top four teams from each of the two groups to advance to the last eight following the 10-game intragroup eliminations.
Six wins should be enough for a ticket, according to league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, and Reyes is aware enough of this fact to insist his team should be in for a much tougher opposition from Meralco this time around.
"We have to understand that it's not going to be the same. We can't expect it to be the same type of ballgame," said Reyes, referring to how his team managed to outscore Meralco, 54-32, in the second half of their Aug. 22 meeting.
"We know that it's going to be much, much harder so we need to be prepared," added the multi-titled tactician.
Indeed, Meralco has rebounded in a big way from that loss by racking up four straight wins that were capped by an 82-74 repeat decision over Magnolia last Saturday.
Making said surge more impressive is the fact it was unleashed despite the Bolts missing the services of several injured key players, including Raymond Almazan, Allein Maliksi, and Aaron Black, and import Allen Durham still not yet in full game shape.
TNT is also on a streak of its own, having won three straight, highlighted by a 98-91 revenge win over Converge last Sunday.
The Tropa have also managed to go on the run despite the continued absence of big men Kelly Williams, Henry Galinato, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
Reyes maintains ample preparation and a good gameplan is needed to hold off the recent Philippine Cup champion. "We knew from the start that Meralco would be the team to beat because, first of all, they're the all-Filipino champions with a very good, quality import," he said following the Converge game.
"So we know how tough that team is going to be," added Reyes. "Now we have to rest, recover, and prepare really, really well for a very tough match against Meralco."(NC)
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