Syrian import Michael Madanly.
Without the TNT’s core players, Michael Madanly has stepped up for the Tropa as the team prepares for the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Syrian import has blended well with TNT, proving that his outing last season with NLEX was no fluke.
“Everything is fine, everything is great,” he said. “The coach is really patient. He is trying to work on it everyday. We believe in that system that we will catch up together and we’ll be fine.”
Though Madanly knows the difficulty of getting the chemistry right with a new team, he is confident that everything will be smooth sailing once Tropa gets everybody back on board.
“Our chemistry on the team is not yet 100-percent, but we are working on it. We played hard in the tune-up games and we will be there,” he said. “Right now, we’re not there, but we will get there.”
Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Troy Rosario, and Ryan Reyes will report back to practice on Monday, which is sure to give the Tropa a much needed boost on the offensive end.
That puts the spotlight on the defensive end, which Madanly believes TNT should work on more as it waits for its Gilas stalwarts.
“We need to work more on defense. We don’t need to work a lot on offense because we have a lot who can score the ball. We just need to have a system with the way we defend,” he said.
Madanly believes that the presence of the Gilas players gives the team more depth as TNT hopes to make a deep run this conference.
“We will try our best to win as much games as we can. We are a totally different team when the Gilas guys come here. I believe in this team and I believe we can go far this time out,” said Madanly. Miguel de Leon/ Philippine Daily Inquirer trainee