The Tropang Giga ended their stint at the 2023 EASL Champions Week without a victory.
The TNT Tropang Giga fell short in its goal of contending in the EASL Champions Week after an 80-69 loss at the hands of the Seoul SK Knights on Friday.
Coming off an embarrassing 99-66 loss against Utsunomiya Brex last Wednesday, the Tropang Giga were able to put one practice session in and it showed in their game versus Seoul as they kept the game close for most of the match.
“Obviously, it was a better game than last time. One practice session went a long way to clean up what needed to do and Daniel [Ochefu] to get accustomed to how we play,” said TNT assistant coach Josh Reyes during the post-game press conference.
Calvin Oftana led the scoring for the Tropang Giga as he finished with 16 points while Mikey Williams added 12 points and 4 assists.
TNT, however, just couldn’t handle the Knights come the fourth quarter as they were outscored 23-14.
Reyes lauded the team’s effort in competing throughout the match, adding that this experience can help them in their PBA Governors' Cup campaign.
“I thought we really competed out there. We were able to adjust well. At one point when the game was really close, we were competitive in our rebounding until that dropped in the end, but overall, I think the positives and lessons here will be able to help us along the way in our campaign in the PBA,” said Reyes.
Ochefu likewise was nothing but praises for the team despite falling short in their campaign.
“Overall, I think despite the losses, we did a good job as a team with the short amount of time we had and given the fact that a lot of our staff, players were with the national team during this [FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers] window as well, so I have a lot of respect for TNT and the organization in what they're doing,” the reinforcement said.
TNT will now head back to the Philippines as it prepares to resume its run in the season-ending conference, where they currently hold an 8-1 win-loss card.