PBA Finals: JP Erram arrives early for Game 3
TNT Tropang Giga center Poy Erram during Game of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup FInals against Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Poy Erram was one of the first, if not the first player to arrive at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City to prepare early for Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
It came four hours before tipoff as Erram and the Tropang Giga hope to end up with a victory and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series while moving on from the big man’s latest outburst that once again became a social media topic.
“That’s the narrative that people see,” Erram said in Filipino before Game 3. “But that’s fine, I can’t do anything about it. I just have to look at the bigger picture.“
The incident came in Game 2 when Erram threw a fit after being jeered by Barangay Ginebra fans and getting an earful from coach Chot Reyes for fouling Justin Brownlee in the third quarter of TNT’s 71-70 loss at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Erram decided to spend some time in the locker room to blow some steam, but not after kicking some of TNT’s equipment.
“Players and coaches blow up all the time,” team manager Jojo Lastimosa said in response to the Inquirer’s query on Erram’s flare-up.
TNT is also set to cover the bill for the damage inside the team’s locker room, which some speculated occurred while Erram was inside. Arena officials and security were seen filing a report on the broken wall after the contest.
The ongoing conference has seen Erram getting into heated incidents, first getting slapped with a one-game suspension after hitting Hong Kong Eastern’s Glen Yang in TNT’s first game last December.
Game 3 of the semis saw Erram getting into a heated exchange with Glenn Khobuntin, who was trying to pacify his fellow Cagayan de Oro native after a technical foul for continuous complaining. The two immediately patched things up.
Brushing it away
TNT coach Chot Reyes brushed off the dustup between the two teammates, saying it’s a common occurrence within the Tropang Giga camp. Lastimosa also played down Erram’s latest moment of madness.
“It’s a non-issue. We even fight in practice,” said Lastimosa.
What TNT and its supporters want to see is an Erram who had been key in the team’s three championships this decade and capable of being efficient if playing with composure.
Ginebra, meanwhile, was keen on getting another win in the contest coach Tim Cone described as a “tone-setter.”
The Game 2 triumph could be key in the Gin Kings turning the tide, especially against a Tropang Giga crew that won the previous Finals meeting in the Governors’ Cup mainly on the defensive side.
TNT won the series opener convincingly using a brilliant team-centered game that befuddled the Ginebra defense all night.
In equalizing, Ginebra led by as many as 17 points before being tucked in a tight second half and the Gin Kings winning after bottling up import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the last two TNT possessions.
