Winning is a habit and TNT Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes has no intention of slowing down when it comes to collecting titles after the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup triumph.
TNT head coach Chot Reyes became the fourth coach in PBA history to win 10 titles when he steered the Tropang Giga to back-to-back Governors' Cup conquest after beating Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 6 of the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup Finals last week.
And with the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup tipping off in two weeks, Reyes is already locked in to silverware no. 11.
“Ten is now a step towards 11,” the 61-year-old expressed on One News' Play by Play.
It was Reyes’ first title with TNT since coming back to coach the team last season and after suffering early playoff exits in the 2023-24 Commissioner’s and Philippine Cup.
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With a returning Rondae Hollis-Jefferson leading the pack and the entry of spitfire guard Rey Nambatac, the Tropang Giga worked their way up back on atop of the PBA summit.
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“This was a very difficult championship for us because it was front with different personal adversity for a lot of players,” Reyes bared.
He added: “But for us to be able to come together and pull through, it made it extra special.”
Defense wins championships
How TNT pulled off a title repeat over the crowd-favorite squad can be attributed mostly to the transformation as a top defensive juggernaut throughout the tournament.
And it all started with their ever-reliable import in Hollis-Jefferson, now a two-time PBA champion and two-time Best Import awardee.
“He was the perfect representation of what we wanted to do as a defensive team,” Reyes spoke.
“What he really brings is his versatility on defense. He can guard all positions and he’s also our rim protector aside from Poy [Erram]. But he can do alot of things.”
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Already surrounding RHJ with some deadly offensive players like Calvin Oftana, RR Pogoy, and Nambatac, Reyes reiterated that the team put extra effort on the defensive end from the get-go.
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“The defense in the Finals started in the preseason when as a team, we committed to focus on defense. If there’s one thing that we can hang our hats off, ‘yun ‘yung depensa,” the former Gilas Pilpinas head coach revealed.
“The commitment and desire to be able to play lockdown defense… that’s where it began and it just got honed in the tournament until we got in the Finals.”
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In the championship round, the Tropang Giga dialed up their defense and held Ginebra, the no.1 scoring team in the league entering the Finals, to under 90 points five times and just once over the 100-point mark.
TNT also held the crowd-favorite squad to just 28% clip from deep while knocking down 40 % of their own triples.
Work in progress
Reyes admitted that there’s still work that needs to be done for TNT in the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup, which will tip off on Wednesday, November 27.
“Our team is always a work in progress. I think we needed a little bit to be consistent offensively. We have to rebound better. There’s still a lot for us to work on.”
“It’s going to be a very different tournament and the same, tough competition.”
[NEXT: PBA: Where does Finals MVP Jayson Castro rank his latest title with TNT?]