Lastimosa plotting Game 2 resurgence for misfiring TNT

TNT COACH Jojo Lastimosa rued the Tropang Giga’s uncharacteristic poor shooting on Easter Sunday, which he felt largely contributed to their 102-90 setback in the championship series opener against Barangay Ginebra.

“We couldn’t make shots,” he said post-game.

A usually efficient scoring machine, TNT struggled to a low 90 points on a 38.9% (35-of-90) field goal marksmanship, including a poor 25.7% (9-of-35) three-point clip.

Such numbers were a far cry from their pre-finals conference average of 115.9 points and glossy shooting accuracy of 47.7% overall and 37.8% from deep.

In contrast, the Gin Kings knocked down 43.3% of their attempts (39-of-90), highlighted by 41.7% three-point-shotmaking (15-of-36) en route to the Game 1 victory.

“If we only made shots it could have been different. And my team relies so much on our offense. Of course, defense is always going to be there in the finals. But if you can’t make shots, you have no chance. And (Ginebra) hit theirs,” said Mr. Lastimosa.

There’s also a need for big man Poy Erram to be more assertive for a TNT frontline that took another hit when Justin Chua went down with a knee injury in the first quarter and joined Kelly Williams on the sidelines.

Mr. Erram finished with four points, six rebounds and two assists in a 19-minute stint marred by disqualification on six fouls and incessant complaining to the referees.

“Poy’s got to do a better job of controlling his emotions…I was actually pissed at him; his teammates were actually getting on him because he’s beginning to be a distraction by complaining too much,” said Mr. Lastimosa. “And we need Poy in the game now that’s Justin’s out and Kelly’s out.”

TNT has three days to work it out before facing the three-peat-seeking Gin Kings again tomorrow in a must-win second match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. — Olmin Leyba