MANILA – TNT Tropang Giga showed steadiness in the endgame to pull off an 88-84 victory over Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Down 79-81 midway through the fourth quarter, the Tropang Giga got consecutive hits from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Roger Pogoy and two free throws from Jayson Castro to establish an 85-81 lead.
The Painters cut the deficit to 82-85 on a split free throw by Deon Thompson but the Tropang Giga increased it back to 87-82 on a basket by Hollis-Jefferson before Rain or Shine got two free throws from Andrei Caracut to trim it back to 84-87.
Rain or Shine still regained the possession twice but they turned the ball over against the tight defense of the Tropang Giga. Pogoy then split his free throws to increase TNT’s lead to 88-84 with three seconds left.
Castro led the way with 24 points, including six three-point conversions, to go with four steals, three assists, and two rebounds as the Tropang Giga took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Hollis-Jefferson added 23 markers, on an 8-of-20 field goal shooting, to go with 13 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks, while Calvin Oftana contributed 22 markers for TNT.
“Rondae shot very poorly in this game, so we are fortunate that the other guys stepped up. Rain or Shine did a great job defending Rondae, so we had to go to our counters,” said TNT head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes after the game.
“We struggled in this game, but the good thing is we were able to win even with our import struggling and I think we should be better after this game,” added the former Gilas Pilipinas mentor.
Thompson tallied a double-double of 29 points and 16 rebounds, while Adrian Nocum also supplied a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Painters./PN
BOX SCORE:
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.
Quarterscores: 22-28, 51-47, 74-70, 88-84.
