ADVANTAGE, TNT.
The Tropang Giga returned from a two-day breather with tremendous energy and superb shooting, and blasted a hapless Barangay Ginebra side, 99-72, to move within a win of a PBA Governors' Cup title repeat at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
With a great recovery from a two-game slump, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his teammates took the pivotal 3-2 series lead, with a chance to wrap things up Friday also at the Big Dome or in a deciding Game Seven, if necessary, Sunday.
On target, the Tropang Giga zoomed to a 23-point lead at the half highlighted by a 30-13 tear in the second quarter and further pulled away with a 23-15 salvo in the third.
Towards the end of the third, Ginebra coach Tim Cone had pulled out his top guns, obviously to conserve their energy for the next game. And coach Chot Reyes followed suit.
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RHJ and the TNT gang gave Justin Brownlee and the Kings severe beating, with TNT scoring almost at will and pouring all their frustrations following a 73-85 setback in Game Three and a 92-106 defeat in Game Four.
The Tropang Giga shot the lights out with a 58-percent clip as against the Kings' mere 27 percent in the opening half.
Calvin Oftana, Kelly Williams and RHJ were at the forefront of their first-half romp with double-digit outputs while Scottie Thompson was the lone bright light for the Kings with 13 markers.
As the fourth quarter became a showdown among the reserves, Hollis-Jefferson ended the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes and 36 seconds of action.
RR Pogoy also had 16 as Oftana, Williams and Jayson Castro added 15, 11 and 10, respectively.
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For Ginebra, Justin Brownlee was a pitiful sight with a 3-of-13 clip.
In the post-game presser, the TNT mentor acknowledged the defensive effort put up by his team, the good start provided by Williams and Rey Nambatac and the fact that they didn't panic after their losses in the last two games.
"That's the most important thing not to panic and keep our heads around us so we can make good decisions," said Reyes.
"Then we focused on out strength, and that's our defense. We go back to what brought us here - playing great defense," he added. (SB)
The Scores :
TNT 99 - Hollis-Jefferson 16, Pogoy 16, Oftana 15, Williams 11, Castro 10, Nambatac 7, Erram 7, Exciminiano 6, Khobuntin 4, Heruela 3, Aurin 2, Galinato 2, Payawal 0, Ebona 0, Varilla 0.
GINEBRA 72 - Thompson 13, Tenorio 13, Holt 10, Brownlee 8, Abarrientos 7, J.Aguilar 6, Cu 5, R. Aguilar 5, Pessumal 4, Ahanmisi 1, Pinto 0, Adamos 0.
QUARTERS : 26-20, 56-33, 79-48, 99-72
