THE TNT Tropang Giga will have to play flawless in the rest of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals as they face a daunting 1-3 deficit against the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.
The Tropang Giga were pushed to the wall by the Gin Kings following a 98-88 loss in Game Four last Sunday night at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Angeles, Pampanga.
TNT is now in a win-or-go-home situation and must sweep the remaining three games to pull off a gigantic upset that only a few teams had managed to accomplish in the 45-year history of the first pro basketball league in Asia.
Injury woes are haunting TNT’s first All-Filipino Cup Finals stint in seven years as leading scorer Ray Parks Jr. did not play after Game 1 who’s still recovering from a left calf strain.
The injury problem piled up for the Tropang Giga when veteran Jayson Castro aggravated a knee issue in Game 4. The ace guard went down with 9:35 left in the third canto.
He drove to the hoop and dropped the ball to Poy Erram for a layup, but was slow to get up after the play. Castro needed help to get back to the bench. He did not return to the game.
Castro just logged in 17 minutes for 2 points, two assists and two rebounds. It remains to be seen if Parks and Castro will play in the all-important Game 5.
With Castro and Parks out in Game 4, Roger Pogoy flashed his usual deadly form and took matters on his own hands and led a valiant rally only to come short at the dying minutes of the fourth period.
The Cebuano guard Pogoy hit three consecutive triples inside the last 2:30 of the game to push TNT within three after trailing by as much as 18 points.
Ginebra, however, had the answer on every shot of Pogoy as LA Tenorio came up with his own three-point barrage to keep TNT at bay. Pogoy’s 36-point outburst went to naught as TNT stares at a 1-3 deficit.
Tenorio torched TNT as he poured in eight of his 22 points in the crunch time. He also had six assists and three steals.
Scottie Thompson flirted with a triple-double of 11 points, 11 boards and nine dimes, Japeth Aguilar poured in 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Stanley Pringle wound up with 16 markers for the Gin Kings.
The Tropang Giga dropped the first two games and bounced back in Game Three before losing again in Game Four.
Ginebra could end the series tomorrow night and for TNT to avoid that they need to get all their guns blazing from the starters and the bench guys.
The Tropang Giga will count on from Pogoy, Poy Erram, Simon Enciso, Troy Rosario also from veterans Jay Washington and Ryan Reyes.