Not having its main weapons greatly affected TNT to open its 2023-24 East Asia Super League campaign, suffering a 75-93 beatdown at the hands of Chiba on Wednesday at Funabashi Arena.
The Tropang Giga, the defending PBA Governors’ Cup champions, did not have the likes of Mikey Williams (rest), Calvin Oftana (rest) Roger Pogoy (medical), and Poy Erram (knee) for the opening contest of the league.
Without them, TNT could not contain the firepower of the defending B.League champions.
It was evident during the third quarter that saw the Jets push the pedal, turning a 45-44 lead into an imposing 71-56 cushion.
The duo of Ira Brown and D.J Stephens were at the forefront of Chiba’s attack with both players finishing with 19 points apiece while combining for 21 rebounds.
Hot-shooting were the Jets, knocking down 16 triples in the contest to help them gain a lead that went to as high as 24 points, 91-67.
Ren Kanechika accounted for six of those triples en route to an 18-point game. Sota Okura added 12 points while Justyn Mutts produced nine points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two blocks.
Quincy Miller led the way for TNT with 22 points and six rebounds while Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who is fresh off a stint with Jordan during the 19th Asian Games, finished with 15 points on a whopping 28 attempts.
Glenn Khobuntin and Jayson Castro chipped in 15 and 12 points, respectively.
TNT will aim for a bounce back when it hosts the same team on November 1 in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
The Scores:
Chiba 93 – Stephens 19, Brown 19, Kanechika 18, Okura 12, Mutts 9, Nishimura 6, Ogawa 6, Togashi 2, Arao 2, Kaishu 0, Sekiya 0.
TNT 75 – Miller 22, Hollis-Jefferson 15, Khobuntin 15, Castro 12, Montalbo 4, Enriquez 4, Reyes 3, Williams 0, Flores 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 45-44, 71-56, 93-75.
