With their arsenal of gunslingers, TNT Katropa can light up the scoreboard at any given time.
But this offensive juggernaut still has a lot of work to do in one major aspect of the game if it wants to make a serious run at the PBA Governors' Cup diadem - defense.
"Two games na kaming sobrang hindi gaanong kagandagan ang depensa namin. Ang taas ng binigay naming score so kailangan naming mag-adjust pa sa defense namin," noted TNT captain Jayson Castro.
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"Kasi sa offense, wala namang problema, kaya naman naming umi-score, iyung nga on defense siguro may mga konting adjustments pa," he added.
The KaTropa were pushed to the limit by a gritty Columbian Dyip side before escaping with a 125-120 victory in their Petron Blaze Saturday Special match in Antipolo that gave them the solo lead at 4-0.
Three nights before, the TNT crew relied on a hot three-point shooting to hurdle the challenge of Phoenix Pulse in another high-scoring affair, 123-118.
The goal, according to KaTropa coach Bong Ravena, is to hold opponents down to 100 points per night.
"Kailangan talaga i-improve ang depensa," said Ravena, ruing how they gave up an average of 30 markers per quarter to the Dyip in their grindout win.
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"Unang-una, individually, tapos iyung rotation. You have to stop your man, eh. How? Gawan ng paraan then susunod na yung help, di ba? Hopefully, pretty soon masanay na kami sa defense. Hindi pwedeng out-scoring lang eh. You have to make stops. We can score anytime but can we stop every possession? That's the question," added Ravena.
The Dyip were a particularly tough customer, repeatedly fighting back from double-digit deficits and even getting a chance for a steal if not for big baskets by KJ McDaniels, Don Trollano, Castro, and RR Pogoy and missed shots in the dying seconds on their end.
"Sobrang ganda ng game plan nila sa amin, eh, especially sa offense nila. Hindi namin ma-stop yung import (Khapri Alston who dropped 38 on TNT) so yun, buti na nakuha namin itong panalo," said Castro.
The veteran guard was all praises for Columbian star rookie CJ Perez, who fired 13 of his 23 in the Dyip's fourth-quarter rally.
"Sobrang galing both offense and defense. Makikita mo talagang kayang kaya niyang gawin, sobrang easy sa kanya lalo na transition game niya. Sobrang hirap -istop kung umatake na," said Castro.
"The Blur," however, got the better of Perez in this matchup in the endgame, scoring four clutch freebies off the latter's fouls to help TNT pick up its fourth consecutive triumph.(OL)
