Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(C) PBA Images

Basketball

TNT rallies from 13 down, secures PBA QF Game 1 win against NLEX


TNT came from behind to beat NLEX, 107-102, and take the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal opener, Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Calvin Oftana connived for the crucial 7-0 run en route to the 100-91 lead with 1:30 left to play, as the Tropang Giga eventually completed the fightback after being down by 13 points early.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to willpower, having that extra push, that extra gear. At the end of the day, you are going to slow down, so kick it into overdrive,” offered the former NBA veteran post-game.

RHJ finished with 45 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists to power the defending champions in drawing first blood in the best-of-5 series.

The reigning Best Import was instrumental in their second-half surge, most especially in the fourth as he helped erase the 80-75 deficit with 9:10 left.

He scored four straight to trim the gap to a point, and his big shots seemed infectious after Glenn Khobuntin nailed back-to-back hits of his own to take the lead for good, 84-80, approaching the midway mark of the final period.

Then came the aforementioned run, with Oftana scoring the last five of it, capped by a booming trey, to make it a nine-point lead.

Oftana, like Hollis-Jefferson, overcame a sluggish start and went on to finish with eight points — all of which he scored in the final period,

“We have those moments where we make mistakes, but just stick with it. Chot believed in him and put him back out there, you guys saw what happened,” said Hollis-Jefferson as he lauded the young winger out of San Beda.

#ReadMore  Brownlee hopes end of reign fuels Ginebra in Governors' Cup

Roger Pogoy supplied 13 points. Jayson Castro made 12 points, five rebounds, and five assists, while Rey Nambatac added 11 in the win.

The Tropa will look to take the 2-0 lead in the race-to-3 affair on Friday, 7:30 p.m. at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex in Laguna.

DeQuan Jones, on the other hand, had 38 points, spiked by a pair of four-pointers, and 12 rebounds to lead the Road Warriors in the defeat.

The Scores:

TNT 107 – Hollis-Jefferson 45, Pogoy 13, Castro 12, Nambatac 11, Williams 9, Oftana 8, Khobuntin 7, Erram 7, Erram 2, Aurin 0, Exciminiano 0, Heruela 0.

NLEX 102 – Jones 38, Valdez 11, Amer 11, Bolick 10, Rodger 9, Mocon 8, Miranda 7, Semerad 3, Torres 3, Policarpio 2.

Quarterscores: 24-29, 41-49, 73-71, 107-102.

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

San Miguel has brought in another import for its PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup campaign. Already on reinforcement no. 3 entering their sixth game...

Basketball

Magnolia laid its four-game skid to rest by outlasting NLEX in overtime, 99-95, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Friday night at the Philsports Arena...

Basketball

NorthPort did it on both ends of the floor down the stretch to silence Hong Kong Eastern for the 120-113 bounce-back win and take...

Basketball

Poy Erram has his sights set on the holiday break ahead as he plans to maximize the downtime to rest and recover after a...

Basketball

TNT bucked the jarring exit of Poy Erram and sent Blackwater skidding anew by way of a 109-93 conquest to go on a two-game...

Basketball

Jordan Heading isn’t really thinking about Gilas Pilipinas and anything about it when he goes up against Coach Tim Cone this Saturday in Batangas...

Basketball

Justine Baltazar is no stranger to playing in out-of-town games, but his trip to Batangas City this coming Saturday may mean more to him....

Basketball

Converge fought back from 18 points down and sent Phoenix crashing anew, 116-105, to post back-to-back wins for the first time in the PBA...

Advertisement