TNT leaned on defense in crunch time and denied NorthPort of a comeback to come away with the 101-95 victory for a successful start to its PBA Governors’ Cup title defense, Tuesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga prevented their counterparts from obtaining a good look from the four-point area as the Batang Pier tried to go for the 27-footer after Arvin Tolentino made one prior to cut the gap to 99-95 with 24.6 seconds to go.
Yet the reigning conference champions were quick to adjust, much to their foes’ disappointment as the shot clock expired with 9.3 ticks left to play.
“I think the difference was in certain stretches, we’re able to string together successive stops and scores,” said head coach Chot Reyes.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led TNT with 32 points, including the free throws with two-tenths of a second left for the final count. He also had 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and four blocks in an all-around effort for 45 minutes.
Calvin Oftana had 15 points, including a perfect 2-for-2 clip from four as he became the first player to hit two from the said range.
Rey Nambatac had a good debut with the Tropa as he finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Glenn Khobuntin added 12.
The victory also served as a triumphant return for Poy Erram, who was out for months due to injuries. He finished with eight points and four boards
Erram stepped up as well when it mattered most, nailing both of his free throws to break the 85-all deadlock and spark a run toward a 97-87 lead with 2:06 remaining in the game to stay ahead all the way to the end.
TNT managed to come out with the win despite missing the services of Roger Pogoy (back spasms), Henry Galinato, and Kelly Williams.
Now, Reyes and Co. will look to make it two in a row against Meralco on Thursday, August 22, 7:30 at the Big Dome in a battle of 1-0 teams in Group B.
Taylor Johns, on the other hand, led NorthPort with nearly a triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds, and nine assists in the defeat.
Tolentino was the only other double-digit scorer for Coach Bonnie Tan’s squad as he registered 23 points and eight rebounds.
The Batang Pier (0-1) will try to chalk up their first win against the new-look Terrafirma on Friday, August 23, 5:00 p.m. in Araneta, still.
TNT and NorthPort will face each other for the second team in the group stage’s penultimate gameday scheduled on September 22.
The Scores:
TNT 101 – Hollis-Jefferson 32, Oftana 15, Nambatac 13, Khobuntin 12, Heruela 9, Erram 8, Castro 7, Exciminiano 3, Aurin 2, Ebona 0, Payawal 0, Vosotros 0.
NorthPort 95 – Johns 36, Tolentino 23, Cuntapay 8, Munzon 7, Jalalon 6, Bulanadi 6, Navarro 4, Nelle 3, Flores 2, Tratter 0, Yu 0, Amores.
Quarterscores: 22-23, 50-48, 76-69, 101-95.
