WITH its main offensive weapon struggling, TNT turned to its defense in the most crucial of times to trip Rain or Shine, 88-84, Wednesday in a match kicking off their PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jayson Castro and Calvin Oftana both came off the bench to ease most of the scoring load off Rondae Hollis-Jefferson but it was the Tropang Giga's ability to make the timely stops that keyed their win at the start of the best-of-seven series.
Castro topscored with 24 points and Oftana threw in 22 as Hollis-Jefferson scraped for 23 points on an 8-of-27 shooting against the Elasto Painters' tough defense on one of the top candidates for the Best Import plum.
"He did not even hit 30 percent of his field goals so it was important that other guys step up," said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
"They did a really good job defending Rondae and when that happens we have to be able to go to our counter and Jayson and Calvin were the ones who provided that firepower coming off the bench," added Reyes.
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"It was a struggle for us the whole game but at least we won with our import struggling with his offense," Reyes also said. "I think we should be better and grow from this game."
The Tropa's defense was on point, however, as they harassed the E-Painters to a total 21 turnovers, including 11 in the second half, leading to the latter's total that was way below their quarterfinals-best 114.67 ppg average.
Hollis-Jefferson did have 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots and scored nine of his points in the fourth quarter, with his last bucket off a turnaround that made it an 87-82 count
Rain or Shine did have its chances to reverse the outcome, especially after Andrei Caracut made two free throws off an F1 by Castro, pegging an 84-87 count, with still 1:59 left.
The Tropa's defense was rock solid, however, repeatedly denying the E-Painters' bid to score in their last four possessions.
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"Our entire mindset is to make sure that our defense should be on point because this is a top-scoring team in the quarterfinals," related Reyes. "We won this not with our offense but with our defense, limiting them to below 90 points."
Deon Thompson led all scorers with 29 points with Adrian Nocum adding 18 in a rare start.(NC)
The Scores :
TNT 88 - Castro 24, Hollis-Jefferson 23, Oftana 22, Pogoy 9, Nambatac 4, Aurin 2, Erram 2, Williams 2, Khobuntin 0, Heruela 0, Galinato 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 84- Thompson 29, Nocum 18, Datu 9, Santillan 6, Clarito 6, Mamuyac 4, Caracut 3, Tiongson 3, Lemetti 3, Asistio 3, Norwood 0.
QUARTERS: 22-28, 51-47, 74-70, 88-84
