WILL TNT come out a better team from the Chot Reyes-Poy Erram spat?
TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson sees themselves "fighting like hell" in an attempt to survive and force a decider.
The Barangay Ginebra Kings, however, are likely to have the same mindset as they go for the kill in Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup best-of-seven finals on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A closeout in the 7:30 p.m. tiff will mean redemption from back-to-back finals losses to the Tropang Giga and return to the throne for the Gin Kings after their 2023 Commissioner's Cup conquest of the Bay Area Dragons.
However, the Tropang Giga have committed a big fight for a 3-3 standoff that would send the series to what could be an epic Game 7 finish on Friday.
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The Gin Kings took the last game and the virtual twice-to-beat advantage on the endgame bombs by Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson leading to a 73-66 Ginebra win Wednesday.
The Tropang Giga succumbed to a second straight defeat marred by a heated exchange in a huddle during a timeout in the third quarter.
"Ah that's just, I just got fed up with all the antics," the TNT coach shared later. "So I let him have a piece of my mind. Kung hindi ko siya mapagsabihan, eh di siya na mag-coach."
The Tropa, however, are determined to respond positively from the episode.
"I see us fighting like hell, fighting to win, fighting to play an excellent game, fighting to give maximum effort all 48 minutes, whether we go up or not, and just staying locked in," said Hollis-Jefferson.
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"(Coach) Chot (Reyes) said it to us -- it's about mental (toughness), like our mentality going into those crucial moments, turning (the ball) over, being wrong on a defensive play, allowing someone to jump up the screen," he added.
But the Kings want no turning back at this point.
"We will come and try with all our might (to clinch it)," said Brownlee, not expecting an easy job, though.
"TNT is a great team as the past has shown. They beat us two times in the finals so we know it's not going to be easy. The hardest game in my opinion and in my experience is the closeout game," he added.(SB)
