TNT KaTropa tries to avoid losing skid vs hot GlobalPort

TNT KaTropa tries to avoid losing skid vs hot GlobalPort
A FIRST loss is something TNT KaTropa coach Jong Uichico can easily shrug off. What he can’t tolerate is a second straight defeat.

“We need to bounce back,” stressed Uichico on the eve of his Texters’ collision with the surging GlobalPort Batang Pier Wednesday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The KaTropa are looking to keep their hold on the solo lead and would do so should they rebound from a 104-107 loss to Mahindra last Friday.

“It happens naman. What’s important is we can come back,” was how Uichico described the Enforcer game. “It should be a learning lesson, think of it as something that we can learn from.”

GlobalPort, on the other hand, is looking to notch a fourth straight win and thus put into more concrete form its bid for inclusion among the top eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals following the 11-game eliminations.

The Batang Pier sure look well on their way to putting their 0-4 start in the mid-season tourney behind them and interim coach Johnedel Cardel said it’s all about staying focused and continuing to work hard on defense.

The fruits of such work ethics were again reaped last Saturday, when GlobalPort pulled off a 101-99 squeaker over Rain or Shine in Legazpi City.

For TNT to ehance its chances against GlobalPort, the likes of Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Larry Fonacier and Lemar Mychal Ammons must be dialed in, as well as Michael Madanly.

After torching for Phoenix 30 points on 8-for-13 three-point shooting, Madanly went 1-for-12 from the field, including 0-for-7 from downtown, and wound up with only two markers against Mahindra.

The KaTropa must also be on-point on defense, too, in trying to contain the Batang Pier’s dynamic backcourt duo of Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle as well as Mike Glover and Jay Washington.

Romeo and Pringle area usually good for almost 44 points an outing while Glover has been solid with averages of 22.6 points, 14.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in the five games he has played in since coming in as a replacement for Dominique Sutton.

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