TNT survived an 18-point lead collapse and three injured starters to beat Macau 106-101 in the PBA Governors' Cup opener. Coach Chot Reyes called the team a 'work in progress' after a shaky debut.
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MANILA – TNT started its PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup title defense with a 106-101 win over Macau on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. The scoreline hid a shaky second half. The Tropang 5G led by 18 points in the first half. The Giant Pandas clawed back behind import De'Vondre Perry and Damian Chongqui.
TNT played without three injured starters: Calvin Oftana, Poy Erram, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser. Coach Chot Reyes did not hide his concerns. "Obviously, you can't be satisfied with an ending like that," he said. "We knew we were going to struggle."
Reyes traced the problems to a lack of preparation. "We didn't have enough players. We've got three starters who are not playing. And this is our first tuneup game. We didn't have a chance to have tuneup in the off-season, because we opted to rest, recover. So this is the first time we played with our import, Darius Days, in an actual game."
Days finished with 23 points, matching Rey Nambatac. Roger Pogoy added 21. The trio carried the scoring load. The defensive breakdowns in the second half left Reyes wary. "There's a lot to work on and the game we played tonight cannot match with the other teams in our group. We're a work in progress," he said. "If we focus on the right things, just make sure we put some effort and focus on our defense then we should be fine."
Perry led Macau with 36 points and 10 rebounds. Chongqui added 24. The loss dropped Macau to 0-4. TNT's next game will test whether the return of injured players or a sharper practice week can tighten a rotation that looked vulnerable when the lead shrank.
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