Push Admin

PBA: TNT can become dominant team in coming years, says Cone

Article (news)

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/sports/12/13/20201213-tnt-pba.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>A hobbled TNT team settled for second place in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup. PBA Media Bureau</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- They may have lost in the Finals of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, but TNT Tropang Giga clearly has a tremendous future ahead and will remain in contention for championships.This was the sentiment of Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone after his Gin Kings defeated the Tropang Giga in five games to claim the All-Filipino crown last week -- their first since the 2006-07 season.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/12/09/20/pba-ginebra-overcomes-undermanned-tnt-to-rule-philippine-cup">READ: Ginebra caps PBA ‘bubble’ with Philippine Cup title</a></li></ul>It was a hard-earned championship for the Gin Kings as the Tropang Giga gave them all they could handle despite missing two star players in the do-or-die Game 5. Both Ray Parks (calf) and Jayson Castro (knee) sat out with injuries; Parks, TNT&#x27;s leading scorer, only played in Game 1 where he aggravated a left calf strain.Even in Game 4, when the Gin Kings led by as much as 18 points, the Tropang Giga clawed their way back to within three points before Ginebra pulled away again for a 98-88 win. It was their largest margin of victory in the five-game series.&quot;They&#x27;re primed to really step into another level,&quot; Cone said of the Tropang Giga.&quot;They&#x27;re fairly young. Jayson, I think, has a couple of really good years left as long as he can stay healthy. But aside from that, their core is very young with Troy (Rosario), (Roger) Pogoy, (Simon) Enciso and Bobby Ray, who&#x27;s still a second-year player,&quot; he added.&quot;So they have a really, really young core that they&#x27;re gonna build on, and I think they&#x27;re just gonna get better and better.&quot;With Castro hobbled for most of the series and Parks on the bench, it was Pogoy who took over for TNT. The former Rookie of the Year averaged 26.4 points per game, including a 34-point effort in Game 4 wherein he willed the Tropang Giga back in the contest.Rosario didn&#x27;t have his best series, but when TNT won Game 3, he was the Player of the Game after putting up 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Enciso very nearly pushed the series to a sixth game when he waxed hot in the fourth quarter of Game 5, eventually finishing with 17 points.And before his injury, Parks made a case for himself as the Best Player of the Conference, averaging 20.1 points in the elimination round.&quot;I think that if we&#x27;re all not careful, they will become the dominant team over the next few years,&quot; Cone said of TNT.He anticipates that every team in the league will have a rivalry of sorts with the Tropang Giga as they try to keep them off the top. TNT has endured a long championship drought, with their last title coming in the 2015 PBA Commissioner&#x27;s Cup.They came close to a breakthrough last season, when they made it to the Finals of the Commissioner&#x27;s Cup behind prolific import Terrence Jones. But they lost to San Miguel in six games, and their setback to Ginebra this conference extended their wait.&quot;I think they&#x27;re just gonna continue to blossom,&quot; Cone said of the Tropang Giga.However, he warned that other teams in the league -- including dethroned All-Filipino champions San Miguel -- &quot;will have something to say about that.&quot; Moreover, there are other teams that are up-and-coming, and may just be in line for a breakthrough. Among these teams is Phoenix Super LPG, which made it to the semifinals of the All-Filipino Cup in the PBA bubble.&quot;They&#x27;re a talented team that has created chemistry, and I think that they could be a team to reckon with over the next few years as well,&quot; Cone said.&quot;There are some other teams out there that they&#x27;re gonna have a say in who keeps winning these championships. Hopefully we&#x27;ll be in the mix as well,&quot; he added. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ftXRODMbKAQ?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

They may have lost in the Finals of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, but TNT Tropang Giga clearly has a tremendous future ahead and will remain in contention for championships.

They may have lost in the Finals of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, but TNT Tropang Giga clearly has a tremendous future ahead and will remain in contention for championships.

PBA: TNT can become dominant team in coming years, says Cone

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Sports

PBA: TNT can become dominant team in coming years, says Cone

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 13, 2020 12:37 PM PHT

Read More:

PBA

2020 PBA Philippine Cup

PBA Philippine Cup

TNT Tropang Giga

Barangay Ginebra

Tim Cone

Philippine sports

Philippine basketball

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.