Ginebra pulled all the necessary stops in the endgame to hack out the pulsating 71-70 decision and even things out with TNT in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals, Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Justin Brownlee nailed the all-important free throws for the eventual final count with 46.9 seconds left, helping restore order for a side that squandered a 15-point lead and even stared at a 70-67 deficit with less than three minutes to go.
Stephen Holt and Scottie Thompson then came through on the defensive end in the final seven seconds, joining hands to prevent Rondae Hollis-Jefferson from having a proper look for the potential game-winner as time expired.
“There was no magic in the words that I might have said or did say. These guys just showed true grit all the way through the game,” head coach Tim Cone said.
“And we knew that if we’re going to have a chance in this series, we’re going to have to show that character and true grit,” the champion bench tactician furthered. “Just really reached deep to make two stops down the stretch.”
Brownlee led the Barangay with 35 points and 11 rebounds as he finally witnessed his efforts bear fruit after they fell in Game 1 two nights ago.
Thompson finished with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists against five turnovers as the former league MVP managed to redeem himself with that help defense on RHJ after committing errors that nearly cost them the match.
One of which was his supposed save of possession approaching the final 11 seconds only for the ball to be caught by Calvin Oftana, giving their foes an opportunity to win it until they stopped the two-time Best Import.
“Those were really incredible stops and that’s just the way we’re going to have to play to have a chance in this series,” said Cone.
Hollis-Jefferson still top-scored for TNT with 25 points and 15 rebounds despite a horrible 6-of-23 clip from the floor, which was representative of how poor both teams’ shooting was as none of them shot better than 33-percent.
But definitely, it was the Tropa who suffered the most in this clash of teams that struggled on offense, most especially in the second quarter where they only produced four points — now the lowest ever in a quarter in a PBA Finals.
Still, they managed to claw back into the game, especially during the fourth quarter behind Rey Nambatac, Calvin Oftana, and Roger Pogoy.
The trio nailed three consecutive triples, with Pogoy responsible for giving themselves their first lead of the night at 68-67 with 3:57 remaining.
Hollis-Jefferson then went on to make it a three-point spread following a perfect trip to the foul line with 2:31 to go, capping off a 14-3 rally from down 64-56.
But then, Brownlee happened. He sank a Michael Jordan-esque reverse layup with 2:06 to spare, then came those shots from the charity stripe for the lead before Holt and Thompson connived on D to seal the victory.
Nambatac had 14 points, three rebounds, and five assists while Pogoy chipped in 11 in the loss that saw TNT go 6-of-31 from three after nailing 14 in Game 1.
Game 3 is Wednesday, March 19, 7:30 p.m. at the Philsports Arena in Pasig, which is expected to get filled to the roof after Sunday drew 12,925 fans.
The Scores:
Ginebra 71 – Brownlee 35, Thompson 16, J.Aguilar 8, Holt 7, Rosario 2, Ahanmisi 2, Malonzo 0, Cu 0.
TNT 70 – Hollis-Jefferson 25, Nambatac 14, Pogoy 11, Erram 6, Oftana 5, Khobuntin 4, Williams 2, Razon 2, Aurin 1, Heruela 0
Quarterscores: 21-15, 32-19, 54-45, 71-70.
