Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Matching up with TNT’s behemoth Smith challenges Stepheson


Both TNT Katropa and the Meralco Bolts have gigantic imports standing at 6-foot-9 with wide-bodied frames. And on Monday night to tip off the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals, both reinforcements crossed paths.

Alex Stepheson and Joshua Smith figured in a titanic clash of bigs to highlight the best-of-three affair. Smith though had the last laugh, as he and the Katropa dispatched the Bolts to take Game One for a 1-0 series lead.

And for Stepheson, who weighs 249 pounds, going head-to-head against the 290-pound Smith, TNT’s fourth reinforcement this tournament, was a huge task to fulfill.

“He’s big. It’s tough. He can get in to the block. It’s tough to keep him out of there,” said Stepheson, who was limited to just nine points and 16 boards during the Bolts’ 102-84 loss.

“Josh is like, 400 pounds or 350, something like that? He’s heavy!

“That’s a lot of weight, so we gotta push,” the 29-year-old furthered.

The Bolts are now down 0-1 in the series, and the setback also proved to be their fourth straight defeat since the eliminations. But the USC Trojan does not want to dwell on it, that Wednesday’s Game Two is much more important.

“We’re on a four-game losing skid but we can’t really think about it.

“The next game, if you lose, you go home. All that doesn’t matter. We just gotta win,” said Stepheson. “We got to regroup and come back and try to play harder.”

#ReadMore  Bianca Pagdanganan struggles in Marathon Classic Round 3
Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

Meralco turned what was thought to be a dogfight to a lopsided mauling as it whipped Ginebra, 91-73, to arrest its two-game slide in...

Basketball

Northport made sure to get the job done before its long break, hacking out a 90-85 victory over Meralco to extend its streak to...

Basketball

Robert Bolick saved NLEX through clutch free throws once again to escape Meralco, 99-96, for its second win in the PBA Season 48 Philippine...

News

Bong Quinto came through in overtime as Meralco survived the hard-fighting Rain or Shine, 121-117, to barge into the win column of the PBA...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO – Rey Nambatac refused to see his debut become a footnote as he saved Blackwater from a massive collapse against Meralco, 96-93, in...

Basketball

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) unveiled the schedule for the season-ending Philippine Cup, set to kick off on February 28 and conclude on May...

3x3 Basketball

Meralco concluded its PBA 3×3 Third Conference campaign on a high note. The Bolts thwarted TNT Triple Giga’s back-to-back grand slam bid, securing a...

3x3 Basketball

Meralco once again emerged victorious against TNT, securing a 21-13 win to repeat as the leg champion of the PBA 3×3 Third Conference on...

Advertisement