Joshua Smith. PBA IMAGES
TNT coach Nash Racela admitted that it was a gamble replacing athletic import Donte Greene for the burly reinforcement Joshua Smith.
But the move was vindicated in Game 3 of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals, when the 25-year-old Smith delivered a humungous 31-point, 27-rebound, four-assist, two-steal, and one-block line to carry the squad to a 104-96 victory over Meralco on Friday.
“He’s a due for a big game like this,” said Racela.
The import change raised a lot of eyebrows, especially with Greene posting a respectable statline of 29.0 points, 14.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 blocks in the seven games he played for TNT.
Smith’s numbers in four games paled in comparison as he only averaged 20.8 markers, 10.8 boards, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks.
But Racela explained the method to the KaTropa’s madness, as management believes that having a hefty import like Smith gives their team a bigger chance to topple the top three squads this conference.
“That’s basically the reason why we decided to change. With our previous import, we lost to two SMC teams – Ginebra and Star — and while we won against San Miguel, they were without June Mar (Fajardo) then,” he bared. “We thought we probably need a different import, and that’s why we got Joshua Smith and we’re hopeful with our chances come the Ginebra series.”
Racela and the rest of TNT, alongside its 330-pound behemoth, is preparing for battle against the top-seed Gin Kings in a best-of-five semifinals series, which will begin on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.