IN a duel of champs, Governors Cup titleholder TNT trumped Philippine Cup titlist Meralco, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson taking over the game in the third period and sparking a Tropang Giga breakaway en route to a 93-73 rout Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Silent with just six points in the first half, Hollis-Jefferson imposed himself after the halftime break, scattering 14 in a TNT juggernaut in the third that carried the team to Group A top spot with a 2-0 card.
The Bolts failed to get an answer on the Tropang Giga's 31-16 salvo in the third quarter and went down to 1-1.
With Allen Durham struggling for just eight points and Chris Newsome slowing down after scoring 12 in the first half, the Bolts found it tough to keep up with the Tropang Giga.
In the end, they missed their shot at a follow-up to their 99-94 win over the Magnolia Hotshots in the season opener Sunday.
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Coach Chot Reyes and his TNT troops made it two in a row with a follow-up to their 101-95 dispatching of the NorthPort Batang Pier Tuesday.
RHJ led TNT's scoring parade with 25 as Rey Nambatac (16), Poy Erram (15), Calvin Oftana (14) and Glenn Khobuntin (10) contributed double-digit outputs.
RR Pogoy and Kelly Williams are out with injuries.
Newsome fired 2-of-4 three-pointers to highlight a 12-point effort in the first half but added just three in the second half.
Top-scoring for the Bolts was Chris Banchero with 18 as no other Meralco player finished in double figures in their low output in this game.
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Newsome and Banchero were at the firing end as the Bolts fought the Tropa in a fierce duel early on, even enjoying the upper hand in the first quarter at 23-21 and at the half, 41-39.
Then their firepower fizzled out in the second half.(SB)
