TNT's Jordan Heading and San Miguel Beer's Juami Tiongson relish the opportunity to play in the PBA Finals for the first time, viewing their maiden stints as both a blessing and big responsibility.
"I'm very thankful for the opportunity. It's always been a dream of mine so malaking pasasalamat ko sa San Miguel to have this experience," said Tiongson, who joined SMB in the mid-season Commissioner's Cup together with Andreas Cahilig from Terrafirma as they swapped places with Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel.
Heading brought his talent to the Tropang 5G camp from Converge in a 1-on-1 trade for Mikey Williams only last month and reached the Philippine Cup championship series straight away.
"Super grateful to be here in this position with TNT and to be in the finals here. This is the type of situation that as players we all live and die for, you know, to play in these meaningful games that people would remember and I think this series is going to be one of those series," he said.
The two are expected to play pivotal roles as the Tropang 5G shoot for the final jewel to a rare grand slam and the Beermen seek their return to the top in the prestigious All-Filipino meet.
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And they're ready to face the challenge head on.
"Really looking forward to the challenge San Miguel is gonna give," said Heading, who is tasked to fill in the big shoes left by Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac in the TNT backcourt.
"In terms of this being my first finals experience I'm just gonna lean on the experience of the other guys, the veterans who've won a bunch of championships. Myself, I've been to championships in Japan and Taiwan so I have experience in terms of making the finals over there. But (I'm) still trying to bring those experiences of my own over here as well."
Tiongson draws extra confidence from the presence and guidance of grizzled veteran Chris Ross over at SMB.
"In terms of pressure, I have C-Ross anyway so he has my back. He's a great leader and an even better person. So I feel like there's no pressure," he said. (OL)
