TNT were finally in the driver’s seat after lagging by 17 early in Game Two of the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals versus the San Miguel Beermen Wednesday. Unfortunately the KaTropa suddenly suffered a big blow.
Terrence Jones got ejected with 21.0 seconds remaining in the first overtime for getting his second technical foul after an apparent hit to the face of Chris Ross while the latter tried to steal the ball.
Jones then left the playing court, but not without high-fiving the KaTropa bench to express his confidence that the locals could get the job done. He left the game with TNT still, up 114-111.
But the remaining players failed to sustain the advantage. The match extended into another extra period, and SMB won, 127-125.
Jones departed with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, as well as five steals and three blocks. Still, he admitted that it was tough to not be with his teammates and finish the game.
“Very tough. I always want to be there for my team to fight with my guys, but that wasn’t possible. That’s very frustrating.”
Asked how he feels about the game’s officiating, the former NBA cager had no comments, simply saying: “You saw the game. I don’t have to speak on it.”
For Jones, they can only control how they approach the game. Game Two’s loss has given them lessons heading into Game Three, such as limiting SMB’s three-point sniping.
The Beermen sank 11 treys in the first half alone, which enabled a 56-39 lead in the second frame.
“We just gotta make sure we take away the three. Like I said, in Game One, I think we did a really good job and today we weren’t as successful. And they shot a high percentage especially in the first half – I think around 60 percent (64 percent from the three-point arc), so we just gotta focus on that,” he said.
“We can’t control anything else besides how we approach our game plan and how much we succeed in that.”
