Rondae Hollis-Jefferson did everything yet again to tow TNT past Rain or Shine, 81-79, to move one win away from securing a return trip to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, Wednesday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The reigning Best Import finished with 23 points, 19 rebounds, and five assists, along with five steals and five blocks, as he took over in the endgame to save the Tropang Giga from a 79-all deadlock with 45.7 seconds to play.
He first threw down the go-ahead one-handed jam after bullying the defense of counterpart Aaron Fuller, and then swatted away Jhonard Clarito’s attempt for a game-tying basket on the other end of the floor with 18.5 ticks remaining.
Luck slowly drifted away from the Elasto Painters since then, as the crew could no longer find the bottom of the net for a counter in the closing seconds.
Hollis-Jefferson was then sent to the foul line with 1.1 seconds left as part of the opposition’s hopes to at least be in it. But he missed both of his free throws, and time ran out shortly after as the Tropa went on to seal the 3-1 series lead.
The defending conference champions could close it out in Game 5 on Friday and get the first ticket to the Big Dance, but none from them are looking that far as their focus is only on the upcoming match at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“That’s farthest from our minds right now,” offered head coach Chot Reyes. “Our only thought is the preparation for the next game, for Game 5.
“Rain or Shine came up with a great game plan today but I thought my players really fought hard, buckled down. Give a lot of credit to the extra effort that they put in,” the nine-time champion bench tactician continued.
Rey Nambatac registered his own double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds. Calvin Oftana produced the same amount of points and added nine boards in the win that served as a fitting welcome to Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams.
The veteran tandem missed Game 3 due to injuries and were both uncertain to play in Game 4 until Reyes and the coaching staff checked them in.
Castro supplied nine points, but asked to be subbed out during the fourth quarter due to a knee issue. Williams, on the other hand, added five points and four rebounds, despite not being at max health as well due to a calf injury.
“He (Castro) asked to be subbed out because his knee is still bothering him. Kelly, he looked good out there today. Not a hundred percent, but at least, he helped us a lot with his defense and his rebounding,” said Reyes.
“It was a risk that we thought we could afford to take, with the end in view of having them strong and ready for a long series. Luckily, it paid off today.”
Fuller, on the other hand, led Rain or Shine with 22 points and 18 rebounds as they fell short in arguably their best chance of squaring things up.
Santi Santillan was his lone backup with 11 points and five rebounds, braving through a recurring Achilles issue that hounded him during the first half.
In fact, it was Santillan who tied the game up at 79-all through a three-point play conversion as his response to Nambatac’s gutsy pull-up trifecta prior. However, it proved to be their last hurrah as Hollis-Jefferson happened.
The Scores:
TNT 81 – Hollis-Jefferson 23, Nambatac 15, Oftana 15, Castro 9, Erram 8, Williams 5, Pogoy 4, Aurin 2, Khobuntin 0.
Rain or Shine 79 – Fuller 22, Santillan 11, Norwood 8, Clarito 8, Mamuyac 6, Nocum 6, Belga 6, Caracut 4, Lemetti 3, Asistio 3, Datu 2.
Quarterscores: 18-22, 39-39, 63-59, 81-79.
