TNT kicks off its training camp Monday as it prepares for the PBA Philippine Cup, and possibly scoring a grand slam for Season 49.
Now carrying the moniker Tropang 5G, the team trooped at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna for the four-day camp before breaking out by Holy Thursday.
PBA Board Chairman Ricky Vargas joined the team when it entered training camp, and so did team manager Jojo Lastimosa, and injured leader Jayson Castro, who has been declared out for the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery at the height of the Commissioner's Cup playoffs.
Their presence is only proof the franchise is dead-set in its quest at winning the season-ending conference and complete a rare championship sweep of the season.
Coach Chot Reyes earlier downplayed talks of TNT going for a grand slam shortly after winning the Commissioner's Cup title following an 87-83 overtime thriller in an epic Game 7 against Barangay Ginebra.
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"I've learned all through my life that if you work hard, you put yourself in a good chance that good things will happen. It's not a guarantee, but at least, you put yourself in a good position. That's what we've done," he said.
The Tropang 5G won't be having Castro around, and so does three-time Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the man who led the charge for TNT in winning the first two conferences of the season.
But they did add a veteran firepower in Fil-Am guard Simon Enciso, which the team acquired as an unrestricted free agent.
A two-time champion player, the 34-year-old Enciso previously suited up for franchise during the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark, Pampanga when TNT finished runner up behind Barangay Ginebra.
"With the absence of Jayson, we need another point guard," said Reyes of TNT's move to acquire the services of Enciso, who last played for San Miguel.
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TNT formally begins its All-Filipino campaign on April 23 when it battles NLEX at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.(RG)
