Behind Terrence Jones, TNT began its bid of claiming the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship emphatically, beating down San Miguel 109-96 in the Finals’ Game One Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Texters uncorked an overwhelming 20 straight points to turn a two-point deficit in the first quarter to a wide 37-19 lead early in the following frame, and that would be the start of an onslaught that saw them lead by as many as 23.
Jones spearheaded TNT’s attack with 41 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, and three blocks in over 45 minutes.
Jayson Castro provided 20 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Troy Rosario had 16 points, Roger Pogoy made 13 points and seven boards, while Don Trollano added 11 markers and nine caroms as the starters shone in the win.
“I guess we had a good game tonight. Siguro, because San Miguel galing sila sa game sa Rain or Shine eh. So I think ‘yung fatigue, naka-ano sa kanila,” said coach Bong Ravena. “But yeah, swerte namin na medyo pagod sila.
“But, it won’t matter ‘pag next game. We have to come out strong again and be ready, because you know, babalik at babalik. It’s a champion team, so we have to respect that. They’re going to come out strong next game,” the first-year mentor continued.
The KaTropa shot 47.6 from the field but it was also their defense that made wonders, forcing the Beermen to commit 18 turnovers — 13 of which came in the first half alone. They converted those SMB miscues to 19 points.
Half of San Miguel’s errors came from Chris McCullough, though he still had 33 points and 15 boards to lead his side.
June Mar Fajardo had 23 points, as Terrence Romeo and Christian Standhardinger had 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Beermen, who managed to trim the deficit to just 13 in the third but could not get any further.
Game Two of the race-to-four series will be on Wednesday, August 7, 7:00 p.m. still at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
TNT 109 – Jones 41, Castro 20, Rosario 16, Pogoy 13, Trollano 11, Heruela 5, Reyes 3, Washington 0, Taha 0, Carey 0, Semerad D. 0, Casino 0, Magat 0.
San Miguel 96 – McCullough 33, Fajardo 23, Romeo 11, Standhardinger 10, Ross 7, Santos 5, Cabagnot 3, Pessumal 2, Zamar 2, Nabong 0.
Quarterscores: 35-19, 69-42, 87-72, 109-96.
