Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
TNT coach Nash Racela said that he’s still not thinking of replacing reinforcement Joshua Smith despite the 102-88 loss to San Miguel in Game 2 of the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Friday.
“We did not lose because of the import. We lost because of another thing,” he said.
Racela attributed the defeat to the KaTropa’s lack of focus. They started the game firing for an 17-0 lead only to lose it only before the first half ended, which is a big no-nos when facing a championship-tested team like the Beermen.
“I think we lost our focus and composure, especially in the second quarter,” the youthful mentor said of TNT’s seven-minute drought which allowed San Miguel to zoom ahead and take control of the tiff. “This is the PBA. The team that loses composure normally is the team that loses. You have to learn how to take the punches.”
“We were up, we came back, gave them the lead. And in the third we lost it again. More than the defense of San Miguel, the problem really was how we reacted to all the other things.“
Racela, though, isn’t fretting about this loss as he likened the defeat to TNT’s Game 3 defeat to Ginebra in the semifinals.
“It’s just like when we played Ginebra in the semis, when we were up 2-0 and then we lost the third game. We lost that game because we lost focus and composure. It’s the same thing today. I think we need to control our emotions more because things will not change,” he said.
Game 3 is on Sunday, still at Smart Araneta Coliseum.