MANILA, Philippines – TNT import Jeremy Tyler was proud of how he kept his poise during their ill-tempered PBA Commissioner's Cup game against GlobalPort Batang Pier on Sunday night.

Tyler found himself embroiled in several near-skirmishes all throughout the game, particularly with GlobalPort counterpart Malcolm White and big man Moala Tautuaa.

The chippy game boiled over in the fourth period, when Tyler grabbed Tautuaa's foot following the latter's dunk, only for the GlobalPort center to respond by planting his foot on the TNT import's chest. Tyler was given a technical, while Tautuaa was thrown out of the contest.

"The game is unfortunate, there's a lot of things that happened that's not ideal, but it's all about how you handle it," Tyler said after the game, which TNT won 128-114.

"I thought because we have a bunch of really nice guys, I thought we handled a lot of adversity well, including myself," he added.

• (READ: Terrence on his PBA debut with TNT: Sobrang saya ko)

Tyler admits that there were certain instances when he wanted to "blow up," especially when he felt he was not getting calls. The import – who was playing in the PBA for the first time – had been limited to only 26 minutes due to foul trouble.

Fortunately for the KaTropa, Tyler was able to reign in his temper.

"I just took a second to think about it, look at the score, and think about my teammates. I gotta stay in the game and be smart for them," he said.

"It was rough pretty evenly," he also said. "There's gonna be adversity, sometimes there's gonna be calls that we don't agree with, there's gonna be times when there's gonna calls that you do agree with, but you gotta keep playing."

This does not mean that Tyler is thoroughly satisfied with how he performed. He had been limited to only 14 points and 12 rebounds in the contest, and was in-and-out of the game in the third period as TNT coach Nash Racela tried to manage his fouls.

"I'm really happy with the win," he said. "(But) there are some things that I wish I would have done better in the offensive side and the defensive side."

"I fell into early foul trouble, but you know, we got a good, strong team, and we take pride in helping each other and picking each other up," he added. "As long as we come out here and get the win, it was a team win."

Racela is hopeful that Tyler will soon adjust to the PBA officiating as he wants the import to play 40 minutes per game for them – a challenge that Tyler welcomes.

"You know, whatever coach wants me to do, I gotta be ready for it. I try to keep my body in shape, so when the time comes and I gotta play a lot, I'm ready," he said.

"Today, I played 25 minutes, which is fine, I'd take that and a win anyday. I just follow coach's direction, and he's our guy, he's our leader. Whatever he wants, I try to do my best to get it done," he added.

The KaTropa returns to action next Saturday against Phoenix.

For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.