Just like how the weather has been, the TNT Tropang 5G and the San Miguel Beermen breezed through their counterparts in the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup on August 8 in the Ynares Center Montalban.
TNT avenged their first round defeat in a dominant fashion against the Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 114-80, while San Miguel demolished the short-handed Macau Giant Pandas, 131-79.
Here's what was noticeable from both lopsided games.
TNT's ball movement with stars returning
Ahead of their expected crucial second-round rematch against Group A leader NLEX, TNT found the perfect opportunity to ease Jordan Heading and RR Pogoy back into the rotation while also gradually increasing Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser's minutes against a struggling Titan Ultra squad.
And that approach paid dividends, as the Tropang 5G moved the ball with purpose throughout the game, finishing with 30 assists while consistently finding the best available shot. Their willingness to make the extra pass also allowed them to attack the paint relentlessly, resulting in a commanding 68-26 advantage in points in the shaded area.
The increased involvement of Ganuelas-Rosser was particularly encouraging for TNT, as the big man converted 80% of his attempts from inside the arc on his way to 19 points. With more minutes under his belt, his presence gave TNT another reliable interior option while allowing their perimeter weapons to operate with more freedom.
Meanwhile, Heading wasted little time making his presence felt in his return. The guard knocked down 23 points while posting an impressive 71.9 TS%, providing TNT with another efficient scoring option as they continue to work their way back to full strength.
With their defense already serving as the foundation of their success, having a near-complete rotation only made the Tropang 5G even more difficult to deal with. TNT held a 31-12 advantage in turnovers forced against a fast-paced Giant Risers squad, allowing them to turn their defensive pressure into more opportunities on the other end.
The combination of a cohesive offensive flow, interior pressure, and the return of key pieces gives TNT another dimension heading into the second round, which head coach Chot Reyes thinks will be essential to them.
"Even when we lost to NLEX, I thought we played great, great defense. We just couldn't put enough points on the board because we didn't have Jordan and Roger," Reyes said.
"It was a big thing that we have an almost complete complement at our disposal today."
San Miguel's deep bench
Against the second-worst defensive team in Macau, which entered the game allowing 117.1 points per 100 possessions through its first seven games, San Miguel barely needed to lean on George King for an extended stretch.
The Beermen's prized import still made his impact felt, pouring in 19 points in just 10 minutes during the opening quarter before spending most of the game on the bench. But with King's workload kept in check, San Miguel simply turned to the depth of its local rotation and continued to pull away from the guest team.
The second and third-stringers proved more than capable of keeping the offense afloat, combining for 84 points with the usual suspects in Don Trollano and Jericho Cruz leading the way with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
What stood out even more was the production from the seldom-used players at the end of San Miguel's bench. Several of them have the talent to be legitimate rotation pieces elsewhere, and they finally received an opportunity to show what they could bring when given meaningful minutes.
Jeron Teng made the most of his extended run with an all-around performance of 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while big man JM Calma was even more efficient, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field to further highlight the amount of offensive firepower that remains available on the Beermen's bench and finish with 12 points.
For head coach Leo Austria, seeing his reserves take advantage of the opportunity was another positive development, particularly with the balanced scoring that San Miguel has been trying to establish.
"One thing I discovered again, katulad nung last game is our balanced scoring," Austria said.
"Mas malaki rin iniscore ng bench namin kaysa sa starters namin, and that's what we've been projecting."
Macau's awful effort
Without import De'Vondre Perry and Jenning Leung, it was expected that Macau's offense would take a hit. But the bad news went beyond scoring, as they showed little to no effort on the defensive end.
San Miguel's 80-37 advantage at halftime is now the PBA record for the biggest margin after two quarters at 43 points, while they also allowed the opposition to reach 80 points for the second straight game.
The lack of resistance allowed the Beermen to dictate the game from the opening tip, as San Miguel consistently found open looks and attacked the paint with ease, to shoot at an overall rate of 53% from the field and have an output of 131 points.