Manila – TNT Tropang Giga showed no mercy for sister team NLEX Road Warriors with a dominant 125-96 triumph in Game 4 of the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson produced a double-double of 35 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists, one steal, and a block as the Tropang Giga finished the best-of-five series, 3-1, to move on to the semifinals round.
Rey Nambatac and Roger Pogoy added 19 and 18 markers, respectively, Calvin Oftana and Glenn Khobuntin finished with 11 points apiece, and John Paul Erram had 10 markers for the defending champions TNT.
Tropang Giga head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes acknowledged the uptick in the field goal percentage in the quarterfinals round after working on their miscues during the elimination round.
“In this sport, it is not only about playing defense but also putting the ball on the hoop,” Reyes said. “I think in the quarterfinals, we are hitting our shots, we just gauged on our misses.”
Robert Bolick Jr. tallied 25 points, seven assists, and five rebounds to lead the Road Warriors, DeQuan Jones added 21 markers, while Jonnel Policarpio and Jhan Nermal tallied 12 and 10, respectively.
Meanwhile, Alec Stockton converted a game winner as Converge FiberXers pulled off a 114-112 escape over San Miguel Beermen in Game 3 of their best-of-five quarterfinals series.
With the score tied at 112-all after three free throws by the Beermen’s Marcio Lassiter, Stockton connected a tough basket over the outstretch arms of Jaymar Perez to complete their fightback from 27 points down.
Stockton finished with 20 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds as the FiberXers stayed alive and cut the deficit to 1-2 and force a Game 4 on Friday night at the same venue.
“We have to be ready; we know that San Miguel will come back stronger in the next game. Hopefully we can grind out another victory, and we will take it from there,” said Converge head coach Franco Atienza./PN
