TNT emerged as the new king of the PBA Governors’ Cup after overthrowing Ginebra from its two-year reign following a gritty 97-93 victory in Game 6 of the Finals, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga showed elite composure in crunch time, with Mikey Williams banking a long trey for the 95-93 lead with 1:15 left before the crew prevented Justin Brownlee from tying the game up twice in the dying seconds.
Williams actually botched two free throws that could’ve sealed it already with under a minute to go, but their defensive efforts were more than enough to bring the flagship MVP franchise its first-ever Governors’ Cup championship.
It also gave head coach Jojo Lastimosa his first PBA title as a chief mentor, leaving the cage legend in total disbelief when they were close to the crown.
“It’s incredible. It’s unbelievable. Even when the buzzer sounded, when I know that we already won it I felt like ‘My God, is this really happening?’” said the 59-year-old as he won the gold at the expense of his former coach Tim Cone.
Williams, regardless of those misses, was clearly the star of the night as he erupted for 38 points on nine three-pointers on the way to bagging home PBA Press Corps Finals MVP — his second career Finals MVP award.
Reigning Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson backed him up with 29 points and 14 rebounds, together with six assists and two steals.
Calvin Oftana, Poy Erram, Jayson Castro, and Kelly Williams all came through with significant contributions as well to help TNT in completing the comeback in the series, winning the last three games after trailing 2-1 early.
The loss, on the other hand, stung Ginebra a lot as it was the team’s first Finals defeat with Justin Brownlee after winning their first six.
Brownlee, still not at maximum health due to the effects of food poisoning, led the Kings with 29 points and 12 rebounds in the defeat.
The three-time Best Import was expectedly leaned on by his side to tie the game in the dying seconds, but turned it over the first time and was then checked on his next attempt that sealed the win for their foes.
In losing his first Finals, the winningest PBA import distinction is still unsettled as Brownlee and all-time great Sean Chambers are tied with six rings each.
Jamie Malonzo had 21 points, while Scottie Thompson almost had a triple-double with 20 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists as he saw his efforts of giving his team a 44-33 second-quarter lead eventually go to waste.
The Scores:
TNT 97 – M.Williams 38, Hollis-Jefferson 29, Erram 6, Castro 6, Oftana 6, K.Williams 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Montalbo 3, Khobuntin 1.
Barangay Ginebra 93 – Brownlee 29, Malonzo 21, Thompson 20, Standhardinger 16, Gray 4, Pinto 2, J.Aguilar 1, Mariano 0, Pringle 0.
Quarters: 20-27, 48-51, 77-73, 97-93
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The 2023 PBA Governors Cup Finals is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
