TNT took down Magnolia anew, 84-82, to close in on a top-seed finish in Group A of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson starred with 29 points and 25 rebounds as he keyed the Tropang Giga’s late-game blitz en route to collecting their fifth straight victory, which improved their win-loss record to a league-best 7-1.
The reigning Best Import scored 18 of his points in the second half, eight of which he made in the final frame that saw him help his side to a short yet crucial 5-0 run to give themselves the 71-66 lead with about six minutes to play.
Yet the Hotshots stayed within shouting distance and got to within a point, but the do-it-all winger went on to deliver the dagger through a tough fallaway jumper to push their lead to seven, 82-75, with 47.4 seconds remaining.
Thanks to him, TNT not only swept Magnolia in their group stage series but also overcame manpower woes, with Rey Nambatac and Kim Aurin sidelined.
“That was the challenge for us, if we could find ways to score without two of our top gunners,” offered head coach Chot Reyes. “Luckily we were able to pull it off, behind some great defensive effort just like in the whole conference.”
Roger Pogoy finished with 19 points, while Calvin Oftana chipped in 10 markers and nine boards as the two wingers combined for five triples.
Jayson Castro contributed significantly with nine points, five rebounds, and seven assists. The veteran guard came through crucial free throws with 6.3 ticks to go, 84-78 as a response to a triple by Paul Lee on the other end.
Magnolia did try to rally from seven down and appeared to have gained momentum when it forced a stop after that trey, but Lee couldn’t complete the steal as he failed to secure the rock, which sailed outside instead.
Jerrick Ahanmisi had one last attempt to keep them alive by nailing a four-pointer after Castro’s freebies but all he could do was trim the deficit as time was no longer on their side. and the Hotshots fell to 4-4 in the group.
Shabazz Muhammad led the unit of Coach Chito Victolero with 30 points and 17 rebounds as he went mano-a-mano with RHJ as the former NBA vets crossed paths anew in what also rekindled a rivalry of sorts from their PAC-12 days.
Lee had 13 points while Ahanmisi added 12 as they couldn’t overcome the big blow they got dealt with when Mark Barroca left the game with only 3:06 left to play after suffering a broken nose from an accidental hit by Kelly Williams.
Barroca left the game with 10 points as the crew lost its main stabilizer, a misfortune which TNT pounced on to get away with the W again.
The Scores:
TNT 84 – Hollis-Jefferson 29, Pogoy 19, Oftana 10, Castro 9, Williams 9, Khobuntin 4, Heruela 3, Erram 1, Exciminiano 0, Vosotros 0, Varilla 0.
Magnolia 82 – Muhammad 30, Lee 13, Ahanmisi 12, Barroca 10, Lucero 10, Dela Rosa 2, Abueva 2, Laput 2, Dionisio 1, Mendoza 0, Sangalang 0.
Quarterscores: 18-19, 40-36, 60-64, 84-82.
