TNT pulled away late to keep Terrafirma winless, 107-89, for its fourth win in the PBA Governors’ Cup, Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Glenn Khobuntin, and Kim Aurin joined hands for the decisive 10-0 blitz toward a 95-80 lead with 3:47 to go, and the Tropang Giga would run toward gaining a share of the Group A lead with Meralco.
Both MVP teams are now toting identical 4-1 records, with the Bolts taking the provisional lead 24 hours ago through a 116-88 rout of Converge before being joined by the reigning champions after they dragged the Dyip to 0-5.
Hollis-Jefferson led the way with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists plus two blocks as he played through a nagging ankle injury.
Roger Pogoy and Poy Erram finished with 14 points apiece. Aurn had 13 points, while Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac added 10 each as the crew leaned on a balanced attack to address its manpower issues due to injuries.
Star forward Calvin Oftana was in uniform but didn’t see action, joining veteran center Kelly Williamd and Henry Galinato on the sidelines.
“That’s why we tried to really elevate our depth as much as possible because we know that injuries are part of any tournament,” TNT head ccoach Chot Reyes said.
Now TNT will head into the second round of its group phase campaign, starting with another meeting versus Converge on Sunday in the same venue.
On the other hand, Antonio Hester led Terrafirma with 23 points and 18 rebounds, bouncing back after scoring just two versus Magnolia last Sunday.
Christian Standhardinger had his own double-double with 18 and 14 while Paolo Hernandez, Kevin Ferrer, and Stanley Pringle chipped in at least 12 points but their efforts weren’t enough to give Terrafirma its first win of the season.
The crew played without main man Juami Tiongson, who’s out for the remainder of this conference after scans revealed a partial tear on his hamstring.
The Scores :
TNT 107 – Hollis-Jefferson 26, Pogoy 14, Erram 14, Aurin 13, Nambatac 10, Castro 10, Khobuntin 7, Exciminiano 7, Heruela 3, Payawal 3, Ebona 0, Vosotros 0.
Terrafirma 89 – Hester 23, Standhardinger 18, Hernandez 13, Ferrer 13, Pringle 12, Hanapi 3, Cahilig 3, Sangalang 2, Ramos 2, Olivario 0, Grospe 0.
Quarterscores: 30-22, 55-49, 76-68, 107-89.
