TNT and Phoenix look to build character for the tougher grind ahead

Tyler Tio (No. 19) has been fueling the rise of Phoenix the last two games. —PBA IMAGES

Whether it’s Chot Reyes at TNT or Topex Robinson at Phoenix, coaches know the value of forging character through fire.

Take the Tropang Giga head coach, for instance. His team is currently sporting a 2-1 (win-loss) record in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup largely due to the workmanlike effort of an import who the national basketball program is hoping to adopt. And yet, Reyes wants Cameron Oliver tested even more by the league’s best so the American will be ready for the bigger battles ahead.

“I think he needs a little bit more of killer instinct,” Reyes told the Inquirer over the phone on the eve of the Tropang Giga’s clash with NLEX, which he sees will be a big test for Oliver. “I’m pretty satisfied, for sure. But we need to see him against some of the best imports in the tournament.”

Oliver is averaging 28 points and a shade under 12 rebounds a contest and will be facing NBA veteran Earl Clark of the Road Warriors in their 5:45 p.m. collision on Wednesday at PhilSports Arena.

“He (Clark) will be the best that Oliver will face so far, and we can find out what he is really made of,” Reyes said. “Magnolia [against Nick Rakocevic] was a good test, but we were pretty short-handed then.”

And then there’s Robinson, whose Phoenix squad is facing manpower problems and an uncertain future for the franchise.

‘Embracing hard’

And yet somehow, after losing their first three matches, the Fuel Masters have won their last two.

“We took out ‘easy’ from our vocabulary,” Robinson said. “We just embraced ‘hard,’ and tried to get better at handling ‘hard.’”

Robinson has sold to his team that the hardships it is currently facing is helping steel them for tough games and Phoenix has responded well, emerging with a 101-93 victory over powerhouse Barangay Ginebra recently.

And the pep talk has worked. Robinson and his charges are now in good position to stretch their minirun to three games as they battle slumping Meralco at 3 p.m.

Phoenix has so far been drawing stellar performances from rookie Tyler Tio and the resurgent Javee Mocon. Both young guns have helped the team fill in for the offense that Matthew Wright took with him to Japan and the supplemental scoring dried up when Jason Perkins was ruled out for the season due to a knee problem.

“There’s no easy bus anymore for us,” said Robinson. “Everything is going to be hard. We just have to get better at ‘hard.’”

Reyes also expects things to be tough for TNT, with injuries leaving his roster still in tatters. And he’s expecting his players to steel themselves as they face adversity.

Getting better

Also being readied for naturalization for Gilas Pilipinas, Oliver has led the Tropang Giga to a 2-1 record, the only loss being that close shave to the Hotshots in their debut.

Prolific guards Jayson Castro and Mikey Williams are slowly rounding out into top shape after different foot injuries, making Reyes hopeful for the rest of the campaign.

“We’re breaking them in slowly. Like Jayson, whom we played for just three minutes at a time in his first game (a 110-91 win over Rain or Shine last Saturday),” Reyes said. “Mikey is still feeling the effects of a bad ankle sprain in Game 7 [of the Philippine Cup Finals], but he’ll be OK.”

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