(PBA image)
For Jordan Heading and the TNT Tropang 5G, the mindset heading into the PBA Philippine Cup Finals is simple: control what can be controlled.
Fresh off a commanding 4–1 semifinal series win over the Meralco Bolts, TNT became the first team to punch its ticket to the Finals, earning the luxury of rest while waiting to see whether defending champion San Miguel Beer or longtime rival Barangay Ginebra Kings emerges from the other bracket.
But for Heading, looking too far ahead serves no purpose.
“We’re gonna go into this Finals thinking about us,” he said. “We’re gonna be focusing on us. We’re not going to be focused on anything that we can’t control.”
The Finals berth marks TNT’s fourth straight championship appearance, a rare run of consistency not seen since San Mig Super Coffee — now known as Magnolia Hotshots — captured four consecutive titles from the 2013 Governors’ Cup through its historic 2013–14 Grand Slam season.
Still, the opportunity comes with unfinished business. The Tropang 5G are coming off a painful Finals loss to San Miguel in last season’s Philippine Cup, a defeat that denied them a shot at becoming just the sixth team in league history to complete a triple crown.
Before that setback, TNT had the upper hand against Ginebra, beating the Gin Kings in back-to-back import-laden Finals in the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup behind the brilliance of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Yet none of that history, good or bad, is shaping their approach now.
“We still don’t know who we are playing, so there’s no point in us giving any energy to what we can’t focus on,” Heading said. “Right now, it’s about getting a bit of rest, getting off our feet and preparing for whoever it is.”
Whether it’s the Beermen or the Gin Kings standing across from them, Heading knows one thing for sure.
“It’s going to be a hell of a battle.”
