TNT brushed off any internal turmoil following Poy Erram’s meltdown that resulted in him getting into a heated exchange with teammate Glenn Khobuntin.
But even if that’s the case, Erram made sure he would be accountable for his moment of madness, especially now that the Tropang Giga are on the doorstep of reaching their next mission.
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“In that moment, I was not thinking about the team. I was thinking of myself,” Erram said after the Tropang Giga closed in on a PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals appearance with a 93-85 win over the Rain or Shine ElastoPainters.
Erram and TNT can finish it off in Game 5 set at 5 p.m. on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, and potentially set up another title showdown with Barangay Ginebra.
After being denied a sweep, Ginebra will again try to lay down the hammer on NorthPort in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap.
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Things seemed to have normalized for the Tropang Giga after reeling from the season-ending knee injury sustained by Jayson Castro in Game 2 followed by the Erram-Khobuntin shouting match.
Coach Chot Reyes said the team “didn’t even discuss the incident” in between Sunday’s loss and Wednesday’s victory, adding that it was a “matter of passion” with Erram and Khobuntin being quick to patch things up.
Significant contribution
The incident, however, was the talk on social media, with basketball pages using Erram’s outburst as content, prompting netizens to poke fun or express their displeasure at Erram in the comments section.
“There’s no need for us to make a big deal out of it,” said Erram. “Because our main focus is to win the series, go to the Finals and maybe win a championship.”
The Tropang Giga put a stranglehold on the series after getting significant production from Calvin Oftana and RR Pogoy, their top scorers in Game 4 with 26 and 22 points, respectively.
Their play eased up some of the offensive responsibilities carried by import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who added 17 for TNT. The do-it-all import also set up a pass for Kim Aurin, who responded with a three-pointer to make it an 89-81 lead near the final minute of play.
TNT won another hard-fought encounter in the series, where the winning average is a mere 4.8 points.
“We know it’s gonna be a difficult series for us, but we are very grateful to be in this position,” said Reyes.
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Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, while refusing to wave the white flag, will need to get more local production after import Deon Thompson was the only one who scored in double figures with 44.
“The series is not yet over,” Guiao said as he guns to make it to a title series for the first time since leading the Painters to their last championship in the 2016 version of this tournament.
