TNT coach Chot Reyes knows the road to the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup championship will not get any easier, especially since the Tropang 5G will have to pass through San Miguel Beer once again.
The Beermen are the league’s all-time winningest squad with 30 championships and counting.
San Miguel star center June Mar Fajardo has been the centerpiece of the Beermen’s championship dominance for the past decade, with the Leo Austria-coached squad winning seven of Philippine Cup crowns dating back to the 2010-11 season.
A look at the PBA record books reveal San Miguel won five straight Philippine Cup from 2015 to 2019, a streak that halted by 2020 when the world was ravaged by the pandemic caused by Covid-19.
San Miguel, playing without an injured Fajardo and scoring machine Terrence Romeo, surrendered the All-Filipino Cup crown after bowing to Meralco, 0-2, in the quarterfinals.
Reyes knows every bit of the PBA history and he is also aware that as long and the 6-foot-10 Fajardo is healthy, the road to the league championship will always have to pass through the San Miguel behemoth.
“I’ve always believed that 50 percent of success in life lies in showing up,” Reyes said, during the Philippine Cup Finals press conference held at the Novotel in Cubao, Quezon City on Monday.
“Now when you show up, it doesn’t automatically guarantee success, but the reverse is always true. If you don’t show up, you don’t have a chance.”
Reyes reasoned that reaching the Finals is their way of taking care of the 50 percent of the Philippine Cup success.
“For us, 50 percent of the work is getting here. However, that doesn’t automatically guarantee success. (Another) 50 percent still has to be done, and that 50 percent is represented by the other side (because) San Miguel is a very, very formidable team,” he added.
“They have dominated the All-Filipino Cup for the last decade, but for us, we’re glad to be here. We all here have shown up.”
The Tropang 5G have an added motivation in the Finals this season, considering that this same Beermen side denied them of a grand slam finish in Season 49 after losing to San Miguel in the All-Filipino Cup Finals in six games.
Unlike last season when TNT didn’t have veteran star Jayson Castro, before losing Rey Nambatac, Simon Enciso and later, big man Poy Erram one after the other via injuries.
But this season, TNT has returned to the Philippine Cup Finals, healthier, and hungrier.
Meanwhile, Austria said that while the PBA fans always consider the Beermen as the most dominant squad, he made it clear too, that San Miguel always has a big target mark at its back.
“We were given a chance to defend our Philippine Cup crown. And a lot of people expected you to really dominate the game, but it’s not easy because after winning the championship, a lot of teams are thinking of how to get that championship out of our side,” said Austria.
Austria, who is bidding for his 11th PBA championship as head coach, said he is bracing for a tougher Finals series, knowing TNT is healthier, and even added several veteran pieces during the offseason.
“We won the championship (last season) not because of a lot of effort on our part, and maybe because they (Tropang 5G) have a lot of players who failed to play due to injuries. So this time, I’m expecting a very tough opponent,” he added.
