PBA: Preparing well pays dividends for KaTropa vs Beermen in Game One
THE TNT KATROPA took early control of their best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup final series over the San Miguel Beermen following their 109-96 victory in Game One on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Texters said the win was something they take pride and delight in because they saw their preparation and hard work pay off in a huge way especially against a team like the Beermen.
Found themselves clicking from all cylinders in the opening half, the Texters used it to build much distance which the Beermen could not make up for the rest of the way, handing the win to TNT.
Import Terrence Jones led the charge for the KaTropa with 41 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks with Jayson Castro finishing with 20 points.
Troy Rosario added 16 markers while Roger Pogoy and Don Trollano had 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Mr. Jones, who was named player of the game after, said key for them in the win in the series opener was the great game plan that they had that allowed them to dictate the contest on both ends of the court for much of the time.
“We had a great game plan and it worked,” said Mr. Jones, whose team turned a close game early in the first quarter to a rout the rest of the way.
Good preparation was also highlighted by Mr. Pogoy, who had a solid two-way game in the opener.
“We just played well in this game and came in ready. We’re playing this way all tournament long and we’re just continuing it,” the Gilas Pilipinas player said.
But while they are happy to go up 1-0 in the series, both Messrs. Jones and Pogoy recognize that there is still a lot of games to be played and that they have to maintain their go-getting mindset if they are to complete their mission of winning another title for the Texters after four long years.
“The team did great but it’s just one step in the journey and we have to win three more,” Mr. Jones said.
“We have not achieved anything yet. There is still a long way to go. This is a best-of-seven series and until you reach four wins the outcome is very open,” Mr. Pogoy, for his part, said. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
