TNT used a strong fourth-quarter push to repulse Barangay Ginebra, 96-84, and race to a 2-0 lead in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals before another solid crowd at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Jayson Castro opened the period with a triple to key a 9-2 run toward the 81-73 lead to wrest control the rest of the way, before triples by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Glenn Khobuntin inside the final 3:13 all but sealed the triumph.
Now the defending champions have moved halfway through the target yet no one from the team is looking far ahead, with all their attention just directed toward Game 3 on All Saints’ Day this Friday at the Big Dome at 7:30 p.m.
(C) PBA Images
“All our focus is going to be on Game Three,” said head coach Chot Reyes. “We’re going to go back and watch film tomorrow and then we’re going to try to figure out what they’re going to do because you saw how they started today.”
“They started off really hot. And it’s going to be even harder in Game Three and we just have to be ready. Our only focus now is the next game,” he added.
Hollis-Jefferson was time and again the catalyst for TNT as the reigning Best Import — and on pace to defend as much this conference — finished with 37 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists in 48 minutes of play.
“‘Pag nilalabas ko siya, sinisigawan ako eh,” quipped Reyes with a grin about RHJ, who also tallied a steal and a block to submit a full stat line.
The former NBA veteran went 6-of-12 from beyond the first arc, shooting his way to a PBA career-high in three-pointers made as he consciously shot that much to make Ginebra pay for leaving him open from deep.
“I knew that was gonna be the game plan and they were willing to live with that for the whole game,” said Hollis-Jefferson, who had never shot more than three treys prior to Wednesday — he went just 1-of-4 from that distance in Game 1.
“I guess they thought that it was a fluke or it won’t happen [again],” he added. “But I’m a professional player. I work on it every day.”
Calvin Oftana finished with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds as he played a key role in reestablishing control for TNT in the third, nailing one of his triples to end an 8-0 run to erase a 57-51 deficit and regain the lead for good.
Glenn Khobuntin supplied 13 points as well, 10 of which he made in the second chapter to help the Tropa’s 30-19 counterattack to wipe out a four-point first-quarter deficit and build a 49-41 lead entering the halftime break.
Both players made a troika of outside shots each as Reyes’ wards sank a total of 14 threes, which was twice the opposition made the whole night.
“These are the shots that they give us, what the defense of Ginebra gives us. We just step up and capitalize. So we study what they want to do on defense, and we just make sure that we have the counters,” Reyes said.
“And in the end, when the situation calls for it, everyone’s ready to pull the trigger. And everyone on our team knows that if they’re open, they’re balanced, they can let it fly,” the champion bench tactician furthered.
(C) PBA Images
Khobuntin and his fellow wingers did their part on defense, too, as they held Justin Brownlee to only 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field.
The three-time Best Import’s woes is a microcosm of Ginebra’s struggles to find the mark offensively, particularly from three-point distance. After Game 2, they have only managed to make a grand total of nine out of 48 tries.
Scottie Thompson had 18 points and nine rebounds while Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt added 11 points each for the Kings, who actually raced to a 21-11 lead early in the match but found it difficult to sustain their flow.
The Scores:
TNT 96 – Hollis-Jefferson 37, Oftana 13, Khobuntin 13, Castro 9, Pogoy 9, Nambatac 6, Erram 4, Williams 3, Aurin 2.
Ginebra 84 – Brownlee 19, Thompson 18, Holt 11, J.Aguilar 11, Abarrientos 7, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 7, Pinto 4.
Quarterscores: 19-23, 49-41, 72-71, 96-84.
