Longtime foes Tyler, Garcia shrug off spat in TNT win over Ginebra

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Jeremy Tyler and Charles Garcia have known each other for a long time, and as competitors, their competitive fire gets the better of them from time to time.

That was the case once again on Sunday when TNT met Ginebra as the two imports jawed at each other on the court.

Familiarity indeed breeds contempt.

But Tyler knew better to downplay the spat, shrugging off the commotion and figured that Garcia may just be “tired.”

“You know in the course of the game, we get tired. All athletes get tired and the first thing when you get tired that goes away is your mind, your mindset,” he said.

“I know Charles, so we had an exchange of words and I just said, ‘Hey, you’re tired, you’re not thinking straight. Just take a breather, you don’t have to argue and let’s just play ball.’ It may look like it’s a rough talk, but that’s because we’re intense.”

Tyler, who hails from San Diego, shared that he and Garcia, who traces his roots to Los Angeles, have known each other dating back to their days as high school standouts.

“I’ve known Charles for 10 years-plus. I played against him throughout my career a lot. I played him in the D-League, I played against him just like Monday to Friday at the gym at home every week, so I’m familiar with his game,” he said.

That’s why Tyler clarified that he’s just trying to calm Garcia, contrary to what was perceived by the fans as a trash-talking duel.

“I just told him, ‘You’re tired, we’re both tired, let’s relax and get our mind back right.’ That was basically it,” he said.

Garcia, though, refused to address the sequence as he opted to turn his attention to his team.

The Ginebra import did get the better of his TNT counterpart numbers-wise, with Garcia finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds against Tyler’s two points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks.

But what meant more was the KaTropa taking the 96-92 victory to remain unscathed in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Tyler isn’t too worried about his performance despite tallying the lowest scoring output in his professional career.

“As long as play hard defense, set good screens, and roll hard even though my shots aren’t falling, I’m sure that the guys will step up and we’ll play great,” he said.