In a championship battle of offense versus defense, it was the defense that drew first blood.
The TNT Tropang Giga set the tone defensively early in Game 1 to put Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in an early 15-2 hole and never looked back, taking the series opener, 104-88, on Sunday in front of a record crowd of 11,000 plus at the Ynares Center.
In what was a portent of things to come, TNT started Game 1 with—what else?—a block courtesy of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who met Japeth Aguilar at the rim to deny him what would have been a slam to open hostilities. RHJ converted that stop to a deuce on the other end, hitting the game’s first basket on a pull-up jumper to give the Tropa their first lead.
Aguilar would get back at RHJ a couple of possessions later to tie the count at 2, and then it was all TNT from there. Holding Ginebra to 2-for-11 shooting in the first six minutes of Game 1, the Tropa would race out to a 15-2 advantage behind a 13-0 blast on a trio of triples—two from RR Pogoy on each corner and one from Poy Erram from straightaway.
Ginebra, though settled down just in time, getting a spark from Ralph Cu to climb back to within 43-37 entering halftime as TNT’s offense sputtered in the second quarter.
Jayson Castro Delivers Vintage Takeover
Game 1 still appeared up for grabs with under six minutes left in the third canto. Then, Jayson Castro took over, hunting down RJ Abarrientos and scoring nine unanswered points against the overmatched Ginebra rookie.
In all, Castro outscored Ginebra 12-7 to end the third canto and turned a 60-55 TNT lead into a 72-62 cushion going to the final frame. TNT never looked back, building as much as a 20-point advantage in the fourth as the Tropa found their rhythm again from downtown while Ginebra continued firing blanks.
Hollis-Jefferson finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks for the Tropa, who held Ginebra to just 39% shooting from the field and a ghastly 2-for-21 from downtown. Rey Nambatac, in his PBA Finals debut, chipped in 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists, while Castro had 14.
Justin Brownlee paced Ginebra with 23 points but was just 8-for-21 overall.
Game 2 is on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
