TNT KaTropa led from start to finish on Wednesday night and brought down one of the leaders in the PBA Governors’ Cup in sister team Meralco, 113-107, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After that, coach Nash Racela was still talking about the instability of his crew, which, he stressed, has been the main hindrance as to why the Texters have been on-and-off in the season-closing conference.
“It’s been very difficult for us,” the rookie coach answered when asked why such a talent-laden squad is running in the middle of the 12-team pack and is still a win out of the playoffs despite improving to 5-3. “Every day has been different for us, something always comes up.
“As a team, we are unstable because of a lot of things – Gilas, import situation, Gilas, injuries and then Gilas again,” he said. “But again, that’s a sacrifice we have to make. Hopefully, we can (eventually) get out stride.”
Against the Bolts, the Texters built leads of as large as 21 points in the first half but needed to battle it out tooth-and-nail in the final two frames to dispatch the Bolts, who, despite slipping to 5-2, are still in the top four.
“It’s not the fault of the players, it’s kind of unfair to them,” Racela said. “But that’s the situation we are dealt with. We just have to adjust.”
With three games left in their elimination round schedule, Racela admitted that he is not even thinking of finishing in the top four to gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Glen Rice Jr. scored 32 points and had 11 rebounds to lead the KaTropa.