GROUP A topnotcher TNT and Group B No. 4 NLEX race for the head start in their best-of-five duel as they fire off the quarterfinal wars of the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The protagonists have taken different paths to the crossover Last-8 with TNT cruising to the first berth and topping its bracket and NLEX being the last to join the march on its side.
But with the new group format, defending champion TNT and title breakthrough-chasing NLEX stand on equal footing as they fire the opening salvo of the series at 5 p.m.
"They're going to give us a lot of problems. They have Berto (Bolick) and a very good import (DeQuan Jones) as well. So we have to be as prepared as possible," said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
"We have to stay as ready and as sharp as possible at this stage (given the three-games-a-week schedules)," he added.
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Jones, who helped NLEX reach the playoffs after replacing Myke Henry, braces for a tough showdown with Rondae Hollis Jefferson and the rest of the Tropang Giga.
"They're an explosive team offensively and they have size, defensively. So we kind of gotta neutralize it by distributing the ball and sticking to what we do," said Jones, who forms a 1-2 punch with Bolick.
"You know they're going to play their game and we're going to play ours. So just sticking to our game plan and you know letting the chips fall where they will."
NLEX caught the last bus to the quarters by snapping a four-game slide and hurdling their two closing games of the elims, 104-79 over Phoenix and 103-99 (overtime) over Barangay Ginebra.
"What's good about this team is even if we're losing games, we don't start bickering or blaming each other. We're just sticking together as a team. That's a positive culture of the team that we are trying to imbibe," said NLEX mentor Jong Uichico.
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Reyes challenged his defensive-savvy charges to crank it up also on offense and raise it to a higher level come playoffs.
"Our offensive efficiency has to pick up for the playoffs while at the same time keeping our defensive intensity. I think that's very important. Our defense is what has carried us through when our offense has been struggling. So we have to maintain that and improve on the offense.
"But one thing is for sure- what got us here won't get us to the next level. So we have to now focus on getting to the next level if we want to go deep in the playoffs," said Reyes. (OL)
