Bong Ravena was happy to get a win in his TNT head coaching debut Saturday night, but he believes the KaTropa still have a lot of things on which to work.
TNT cruised to a 110-104 win over a weary Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Petron Blaze Saturday Special in Passi City, Iloilo.
Ravena, the 48-year-old who was promoted from his position as an assistant, said he and new team consultant Mark Dickel have placed greater emphasis on playing defense during their four-day preparation in Manila.
"With consultant Mark Dickel, we started practice four days ago. So we basically started from scratch. But what we wanted to implement is simple -- we just want the players to develop a consistant habit of playing defense," Ravena told ESPN5.
Ravena, the PBA Rookie of the Year in 1992, knows that allowing Rain or Shine to score 104 points is unacceptable. That said, the team probably needs a few more games under its new system before things click. Ravena succeeded Nash Racela less than a week ago.
"We're all for building the right foundations," Ravena said. "Our eyes really are on how consistent we are on defense and the energy we give each quarter."
Purefoods [Magnolia] import Marqus Blakely bolstered TNT with 26 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists in his first game back.
Teammates call Blakely "Mr. Everything," and he did not disappoint in providing energy on both ends to boost the KaTropa to 3-4 in the Governors' Cup.
Additionally, Terrence Romeo and Troy Rosario poured in 24 and 22 points, respectively. Romeo, the three-time PBA scoring champion, and Rosario combined for eight 3-pointers.