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.”
