MANILA – Terrence Jones proved to be as good as advertised as he towed TNT KaTropa to a 102-87 rout over NLEX Road Warriors in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Jones, who suited up for Houston Rockets earlier in the NBA season, finished with double-double 41 points and 14 rebounds for the KaTropa, which gained the early lead with NorthPort Batang Pier and Blackwater Elite.
Anthony Semerad added 11 markers, including three outside conversions, while Kelly Williams fell a rebound short of double-double with 10 markers and nine boards for the KaTropa.
Trailing 12-20 early in the opening period, the KaTropa turned things around in the second quarter on seven straight points by Jones and outside hits by Semerad for a 52-39 halftime edge.
The lead grew further for KaTropa in the second half with Williams, Jayson Castro and Celedonio Trollano making their contributions and reached its largest at 85-60 on a basket by Yousef Taha.
Curtis Washington finished with double-double 18 points and 16 rebounds, while Kenneth Ighalo and John Paul Erram contributed 14 markers apiece for the Road Warriors.
In the first game, the Batang Pier bucked the absence of veteran players Stanley Pringle, Bradwyn Guinto and Garvo Lanete to score a 103-81 victory over Alaska Aces.
The Batang Pier jumped to an early 28-18 on early hits from Sean Anthony, Robert Bolick and Jonathan Grey but the Aces rallied to tie the score at 35-all before NorthPort created distance at 51-42 at the half on consecutive hits by Bolick.
The Batang Pier increased its edge to 55-42 on another basket but the Aces attempted to rally several times before NorthPort dropped the hammer and build its largest lead at 103-79 on free throws by Juan Nicholas Elorde.
Anthony led the way with 22 points, including three outside hits, while Bolick and reinforcement Prince Ibeh had 19 markers apiece for the Batang Pier. Robert Daniels top-scored with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Aces, which dropped to 1-1./PN
