Ryan Reyes, 38, turning back hands of time as TNT zeroes in on elusive PBA crown

It was just another day in the office for Ryan Reyes.

Reyes hardly made a fuss about his spectacular two-way play that ignited TNT to a 106-89 victory over Magnolia in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals – a win away from their first title in six years.

Coming off the bench, Reyes poured all of his 10 points and 4 steals in the first two quarters to key the Tropang Giga to a 57-39 halftime lead en route to the 17-point blowout triumph.

The Hotshots never recovered and failed to cut their deficit to single digits in the second half.

“Everyone is accountable for just playing hard, playing well. Anyone can get called up and put in the game and we just give it our best,” Reyes said.

“We just play [and] we give all our effort – exactly what I did.”

The 38-year-old veteran seemed to have found the fountain of youth just in time for the best-of-seven finals.

Scoring in twin digits just once from the elimination round up to the semifinals, Reyes has breached double figures twice in the championship duel as he helped TNT nail a commanding 3-1 lead.

He chalked up 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in a 12-point Game 2 win.

For Reyes, it was just his way of repaying the trust given by Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes as they reunited after almost a decade.

“Just given the opportunity to play, especially playing for coach Chot, just the all-out confidence, the trust that he gives us, it just makes us go out there and play hard,” Reyes said.

Although admitting he likes his chances of winning his first PBA crown since 2015, Reyes knows the job is far from done.

TNT goes for the clincher in Game 5 on Friday, October 29.

“We just got to keep going. Keep doing what we’re doing. Go back to practice and see what we need to fix and what we need to adjust and be ready for Game 5,” Reyes said. – Rappler.com