TNT is marching on to the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals by knocking out Eastern, 109-93, Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Tropang Giga took the lead late in the third quarter before pulling away in the final frame as the traditional contenders put their win-once quarterfinal incentive into good use on the way to completing half of the Final Four picture.
Earlier in the night saw the top-seeded NorthPort show Magnolia the door following a tough endgame stand toward hacking out the 113-110 decision.
This means that the top two two teams of the eliminations are headed into the semis, and will now monitor the other two brackets for their next foes.
“We have a pretty long break coming up and it’s going to be incumbent upon us to take advantage of that break,” said head coach Chot Reyes, whose team will await the winner between Converge and Rain or Shine.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led TNT with 31 points and 14 rebounds, together with four assists and three steals. Rey Nambatac delivered 18 points as the two pounded on the opposition most especially in the fourth quarter.
Jayson Castro finished with 16 points as he powered the third-quarter surge, dropping 13 of their 29 points in the period alone to turn a slim 51-50 halftime lead into an 80-73 advantage entering the game’s final 12 minutes.
“Eagerness to win ko lang talaga and at the same time, mag-contribute sa team. ‘Yun lang ‘yung nagbibigay sa’kin ng motivation. At the same time, gusto pa rin namin makapunta ng Finals,” said the 38-year-old point guard.
“As one of the veterans sa team, kailangan mong maging good example. Siguro ‘yun lang ‘yung motivation ko,” Castro furthered.
The second-seeded Tropa also received solid contributions from Poy Erram and winger Calvin Oftana as they punched 15 and 12 points, respectively as they exacted vengeance after being beaten badly during their eliminations duel.
The loss, on the other hand, meant the end of the road for the Hong Kong-based ball club, who played their second knockout game in as many nights as they fought — and lost — to Taoyuan on the road in the East Asia Super League.
Hayden Blankley led Eastern with 24 points and seven rebounds, with Cam Clark — reactivated in lieu of Chris McLaughlin — adding 16 and eight.
Glen Yang tallied a 14-5-6 stat line but hardly made his presence felt as Roger Pogoy took the initiative in defending the heady playmaker.
Eastern is now headed for a lengthy break ahead before preparing for the next season, where it is once again competing in Asia’s first pro league.
The Scores:
TNT 109 – Hollis-Jefferson 31, Nambatac 18, Erram 15, Castro 16, Oftana 12, Pogoy 6, Williams 6, Aurin 4, Khobuntin 1.
HK Eastern 93 – Blankley 24, Clark 16, Yang 14, Lam 11, Chan 9, Zhu 8, Guinchard 5, Xu 4, Cao 2, Leung 0.
Quarterscores: 27-24, 51-50, 80-73, 109-93.
