TNT Tropang 5G kicks off grand slam quest against NLEX Road Warriors

Games on Wednesday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. – NLEX vs TNT
7:30 p.m. – Terrafirma vs Ginebra

IT’S AN OPPORTUNITY of a lifetime for a PBA team.

With triumphs in the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup, TNT sits in striking position to snag a rare grand slam in Season 49 with a championship run in the culminating Philippine Cup.

Carrying the new moniker Tropang 5G, the PLDT franchise previously got in a similar situation back in Season 36 or the 2010-11 wars, when it conquered the first two conferences before Petron (now San Miguel Beer) denied it of the third jewel, 4-3.

This time, TNT looks to go all the way through and join Crispa (1976 and 1973), San Miguel (1989), Alaska (1996) and San Mig Coffee, now Magnolia (2013-14) in the elite grand slam club.

“It takes a special team to win a grand slam. I felt in the beginning of the season we can compete for the three conferences. And now we’ve got two and we have a shot,” said TNT manager Jojo Lastimosa, who himself won a Triple Crown as a key player of Alaska.

“The first one’s hard, the second one’s harder but the third one is going to be the hardest because you have to think about mental fatigue and everyone has to be injury-free. Everything has to fall together for you to win a grand slam now.”

Mr. Lastimosa expressed confidence coach Chot Reyes’ troops will be up to the task — even without the major driving force of their back-to-back victories — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

“These guys are still capable of winning without Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson) and this is their biggest opportunity to prove that,” he said.

The Tropang 5G kick off their hat-trick quest on Wednesday against NLEX (1-1) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game time is 5 p.m. in the opener of a post-Holy Week doubleheader that also features TNT’s conquered rival, Barangay Ginebra, in its conference debut versus Terrafirma (1-2) at 7:30 p.m.

Though TNT hasn’t played since beating the Gin Kings in overtime in an epic Game 7, 87-83, on March 28, NLEX mentor Jong Uichico expects their opponents to be very competitive.

“When a team is a well-oiled machine they don’t need a lot of practice time,” said Mr. Uichico.

“All they have to do is practice a little bit, get their rhythm back, be in shape and then they can play.” — Olmin Leyba