MANILA, Philippines – The TNT KaTropa had plenty of chances to get back in their PBA Philippine Cup game against Barangay Ginebra last Sunday night at the Philippine Arena.

The KaTropa had already clawed their way out of an 18-point hole in the first half, and managed to make it a one-possession game several times in the third quarter.

Unfortunately for TNT, they were just never able to get over the hump. Several of their players missed lay-ups right at the rim – from Roger Pogoy to Don Trollano to Harvey Carey – that could have tied the game.

Instead, Ginebra ended the third quarter on a 6-0 blast – just enough to pad their lead and give them the momentum to break the game open in the final period. The Gin Kings ran away with a 90-79 win.

"(We were) pretty good for three quarters, and then I thought they kinda wore us down a little bit," said TNT consultant Mark Dickel after the game, which saw the KaTropa shoot just 32% from the field.

"Ultimately, in that game we had to make some more shots if we wanted to have a chance to really trouble them. We had an opportunity in the third quarter where we were getting stops, and we just didn't make the looks we got," he noted.

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TNT was down by just two points, 59-57, with 3:54 left in the third, but in their ensuing possessions, Jayson Castro and Harvey Carey bricked close range looks, and Pogoy also misfired on a lay-up.

Pogoy and Ryan Reyes also failed to find the mark from beyond the arc.

"When you play a good team like that, they make you pay for that," said Dickel.

To make matters worse for TNT, they had no answer on the other end as the Gin Kings' huge frontline overwhelmed them.

Dickel acknowledged that Ginebra's big men had an impact on their shooting inside the paint – particularly Japeth Aguilar, who earlier in the night had earned a First Mythical Team selection in the Leo Awards.

"They're big and Japeth is a monster down there and he blocks shots," Dickel pointed out.

"Sometimes, what looks like easy shots, they're not. And when we did get easy shots, we missed them too. And when we got open shots, we missed them also," he added.

But Dickel is confident that those shots will start falling soon for the KaTropa.

"We got guys who are capable of hitting those shots, so you can't get too hung up on missing those shots, you just gotta hope next game they go in," he explained.

It also didn't help that TNT is playing without a key member of its rotation, as Troy Rosario suffered a broken nose that will keep him out of action until February. That forced the TNT coaching staff to roll out a small line-up that featured Trollano as their power forward.

Trollano did a respectable job and finished with 15 points, but Dickel said that he "wore down a little" as he guarded his taller counterparts in Ginebra.

He is sure that as the conference progresses, TNT will make strides.

"We've got other good players, and ultimately they've gotta step up and do the job, or we're gonna be in trouble," he said.

"Hopefully over the next months we can play a little bit better and hopefully get (Trollano) a little bit more comfortable, and then our offense will look a little bit smoother," he also said.

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