Coming off a woeful 0-2 start, TNT has gone on a two-game roll to reach .500 for the first time in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
After breaking through with a 103-100 verdict over Magnolia, the Tropang Giga added an emphatic followup via a 109-93 dispatching of Blackwater Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Jason Castro, who missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues, quickly made a big impact and dropped 16 points with three steals and two assists in a rousing comeback game.
As always, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was a rock, firing 22 with nine rebounds, five dimes, two steals and a block for the reigning Governors' Cup titlist despite dealing with a slight ankle sprain.
Surrounding the two were solid all-around performances by Rey Nambatac (19-5-5) and Calvin Oftana (18-8) and commendable defensive work by Glenn Khobuntin and Paul Varilla on Bossing import George King.
Sponsored content: The high-scoring King logged a conference-low 28 on 10-of-22 shooting against the TNT the duo and the rest of the defenders - off his average of 39 in Blackwater's first four outings.
"The good thing was after that last game we had a long break and we used the break to really work on a lot of our mechanics especially defensively," said TNT coach Chot Reyes, whose troops enjoyed an eight-day breather prior to the Bossing game.
"And then towards the last couple of days, the last several days, we focused on how to stop George King. We all know his ability from the four-point line. So we were very intentional in guarding the four-point line against George," he also said.
"So we gotta give a lot of credit to Glen Cubutin, and Paul Varilla who did the majority of the work on him. But everyone pitched in. We were switching a lot and everyone was very mindful of the defensive game plan," he added.
The win came at a cost, though, as big man Poy Erram limped out with a left knee injury late in the third.
Sponsored content: With King slowed down and Sedrick Barefield sitting it out, RK Ilagan stepped up on offense for Blackwater (1-5) and shot 19 spiked by a 3-of-3 shooting form the three-point arc. No other Bossing player chipped in double-digits, though.(OL)
The Scores:
TNT 109 - Hollis-Jefferson 22, Nambatac 19, Oftana 18, Castro 16, Pogoy 12, Khobuntin 10, Galinato 6, Erram 4, Razon 2, Varilla 0, Aurin 0, Exciminiano 0.
Blackwater 93 - King 28, Ilagan 19, Chua 9, Kwekuteye 9, David 8, Suerte 5, Escoto 4, Ponferrada 3, Montalbo 2, Casio 2, Corteza 2, Guinro 1, Ayonayon 1, Jopia 0, Hill 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18, 57-48, 82-69, 109-93
