Terrence Jones was definitely a big factor in TNT’s win over the San Miguel Beermen on Saturday night.
In the KaTropa’s 110-97 wire-to-wire victory, the 27-year-old filled up the stat sheet anew. He had 30 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks, four assists, and two steals against four turnovers in the 45 minutes and 52 seconds he saw action.
But as impressive as his performance was, Jones said that the victory was more about their team effort.
That was evident in the numbers. The KaTropa dished out 24 assists, which led to a total of five Texters – including Jones himself – finishing in double figures. Moreover, it allowed them to shoot 41.7 percent from the field.
“You know, more importantly, I think it was team effort, man. I think the way we moved the ball was unselfish,” he said.
“Even when I felt I got it going, you know, we were just trying to find the open man and we’re just playing as a team offensively and defensively. And I think that’s what ultimately, you know, got us that lead, and we just stayed consistent.”
Jones’ defense was equally commendable, as evidenced by his five blocks and two steals. But he also did a good job defending San Miguel’s twin towers in June Mar Fajardo and counterpart Charles Rhodes.
Though Rhodes had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while the reigning five-time MVP made 13 and 13, Jones made it tough for the two to score, especially inside the paint — a few of his blocks came at their expense.
“I think they made a great run in the fourth quarter, and you know that’s where my defensive presence had to take over and I had to be at the rim, protecting, and you know… I just happened to have five blocks,” he said.
“They’re both very good big men. We knew we’re gonna have a challenge guarding them just because of how offensively talented both guys are. I knew I was gonna guard June Mar most of the time, but then Terrence got it going so I had to try to make a switch just to… you know. We stay with that lead.
“But both bigs are very good, a lot of credit to those guys. They just won a championship so we give them a lot of respect, a lot of credit,” he added.
Given his and his team’s performances in their second straight victory, Jones and the KaTropa have clearly moved on from that ugly incident last June 2, which also happened at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“I’m good, man,” said Jones.
“We wanted to come in here tonight and just keep it strictly about basketball. We don’t want nobody to dwell on that game and just wanted to come in this game tonight, stay focused, and wanted to make sure we played as a team tonight.”
