Rondae Hollis-Jefferson showed up as the reigning Best Import that he is at crunch time, powering his way to a deadlock-shattering slam then grabbing the most important rebound in a TNT cliffhanger that sent them to the doorstep of the PBA Governors' Cup Finals.
With RHJ's heroics, the Tropang Giga eked out an 81-79 decision over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and took a commanding three-games-to-one lead in their side of the best-of-seven semifinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was a tight game with neither side leading by more then seven points.
And the game was still in the balance until Gian Mamuyac missed Rain or Shine's last offensive thrust then Hollis-Jefferson beat Jhonard Clarito in a rebound dispute with time down to 1.5 seconds.
A little earlier, with the count tied at 79 after a three-point play from Leonard Santillan, the TNT import took matters into his hands, attacking the ROS defense with great force and purpose, and slamming it home as the Tropang Giga seized the upper hand with 37 ticks to go.
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The E-Painters refused to die just yet but the Tropang Giga refused to get beat, claiming the win that sent them a win away from a shot at the crown that they won over the Barangay Ginebra Kings back in 2023.
Coach Chot Reyes and his troops go for the kill versus coach Yeng Guiao and his chargers on Friday over at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
After Game Three, Guiao noted that it's the bunch of his former players that's proving to be his biggest thorn in the series.
It's also the case in this particular game where Rey Nambatac and Calvin Oftana fired 15 points apiece and Poy Erram contributed eight.
In drilling the second of his two treys in the night, Nambatac pushed TNT ahead at 79-76 before Santillan answered with a three-point play, sending the game to a wild, wild windup.
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Hollis-Jefferson showed his stuff in this kind of game and finished with a wondrous double-double of 23 points and 19 rebounds on top of five assists, five steals and five blocks against three errors.
He was a juggernaut, then there's the TNT support cast, including Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams who were reactivated for this outing.
Castro threw in nine points while Wiliams chipped in five, though, his biggest contribution was his defensive effort on Aaron Fuller.(SB)
The Scores :
TNT 81 - Hollis-Jefferson 23, Nambatac 15, Oftana 15, Castro 9, Erram 8, Williams 5, Pogoy 4, Aurin 2, Khobuntin 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 79 - Fuller 22, Santillan 11, Norwood 8, Clarito 8, Mamuyac 6, Nocum 6, Belga 6, Caracut 4, Lemetti 3, Asistio 3, Datu 2.
QUARTERS : 18-22, 39-39, 63-59, 81-79
