Poy Erram was redemption personified after towing TNT past Barangay Ginebra in a thriller, 87-83, to force the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals to a deciding Game 7, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Wanting to make up for his outburst back in their eventual Game 5 loss last Sunday, the veteran big man scored 10 of his 14 points in the final period as he helped his side take control of the game and ward off their foes to seal the deal.
He was responsible for enabling his side to lead by 10 points twice early in that frame, and then exemplified hustle in the closing moments by collaring crucial rebounds and pulling off key stops against the Kings.
The 6-foot-8 center was the badly-needed presence underneath for the Tropang Giga when Rondae Hollis-Jefferson muffed both of his free throws with exactly nine seconds left, tapping the ball away which the latter eventually secured.
The three-time Best Import did not waste the chance, going a perfect 2-for-2 from the line for the eventual count — and preserved as well the efforts of Erram and the others in making sure that they live to fight one more day.
“We just told Poy to focus on shutting off the noise, ‘yun ang importante sa kanya,” offered head coach Chot Reyes post-game. “I told him, of all our players in this series, he was the one with the highest plus-minus.”
“In the effort chart, pinakamataas si Poy eh. But we need him on the floor. So I said just focus, shut off the noise, because his presence is very important. Luckily, he did just that tonight,” the champion mentor added.
Hollis-Jefferson led TNT with 29 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists as he finally got back to his usual ways after subpar outings in the last two games.
Rey Nambatac had 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a buzzer-beating four to end the third that sparked a 13-0 run. That shot gave his team a 10-point advantage before needing to ward off their foes’ rally down the stretch.
Calvin Oftana was the other double-digit scorer in the win with 14 points and eight rebounds as they all played inspired basketball after the recovering Jayson Castro made it a point to visit his team and watch the game live.
“Yung pagpunta pa lang ni kuya Jayson kahapon sa practice namin, sobrang dagdag na extra motivation sa amin ‘yun,” Nambatac said.
Justin Brownlee, meanwhile, led Ginebra with 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists but committed seven of the team’s 18 turnovers in the loss.
Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos finished with 12 points each while Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt supplied 11 points apiece for the Kings.
The quartet played key roles in the fourth-quarter uprising, with JB himself nailing a tough fallaway jumper following a defensive lapse to turn what was once a 76-66 deficit to just one, 80-79, with 1:05 to go.
Hollis-Jefferson, however, made both of his free throws afterwards to make it a three-point spread. And it didn’t help the Barangay that Japeth Aguilar pulled the trigger for a corner triple with about 38 seconds left and missed.
TNT then checked Brownlee on defense by taking the ball away from him, and Erram himself would force a jump ball before eventually securing the ball. He was then fouled and pushed their lead to 83-79 after a split,
Erram seemed to put the game on lock when he made both of his shots from the line to push their lead to five with 16 seconds left — until Thompson nailed a high-arching triple off the glass to cut the gap to 85-83.
Anxiety rose through the roof, especially for the Tropa when Hollis-Jefferson missed his freebies. But Erram came up with the important save, enabling the former NBA veteran to make up for it, all but sealing the triumph.
“Our first-ever experience playing a win-or-go-home game with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. So I said what a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves,” said Reyes, who has the chance to win his 11th league title.
“I said let’s just grab this opportunity. Go out there and play hard and just compete,” he added. “If we lose, we lose. But at least, we’re not going to go down without a fight. Credit to the guys, they just gave it their all.”
Game 7 is on Friday, March 28, 7:30 PM, still at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
TNT 87 – Hollis-Jefferson 29, Nambatac 23, Oftana 14, Erram 14, Khobuntin 4, Pogoy 3, Heruela 0, Aurin 0, Williams 0.
Ginebra 83 – Brownlee 22, Thompson 12, Abarrientos 12, J. Aguilar 11, Holt 11, Malonzo 6, Rosario 6, Ahanmisi 3.
Quarterscores: 22-22, 38-42, 63-62, 87-83.
#WATCH: “WE’RE NOT GOING TO GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT!”
Chot Reyes praises TNT Tropang Giga’s relentless spirit as they take the #PBA2025 Finals to the limit
@justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/nsQNaWIGkC
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 26, 2025
