Barangay Ginebra San Miguel leaned on a much better defensive effort to escape the TNT Tropang Giga, 71-70, in Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The crowd darlings were much more aggressive and connected on defense this time around, flipping the script and holding the Tropa to two records of futility: lowest scoring half in a PBA Finals (19) and lowest scoring quarter ever in league history (4 in the second quarter).
Ginebra also did enough on offense, with Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson powering the Barangay to a 32-19 halftime lead despite the team’s own struggles shooting the ball.
TNT Rallies Back, Nearly Pulls Off Stunner
The Tropa, though, didn’t go down quietly, scoring 26 points in the third quarter to stay within striking distance of Ginebra. Rey Nambatac and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson then led a furious fight back in the fourth, culminating with TNT taking its first lead of the game, 68-67, on an RR Pogoy triple.
Two free throws by Hollis-Jefferson pushed the lead to 70-67 as the Tropa outscored Ginebra 14-3 starting at the 7:03 mark, when the crowd darlings held a 64-56 advantage. But Brownlee wasn’t letting Ginebra fall into a 2-0 hole, driving at the heart of the TNT defense to cut the lead to 70-69 at about the two-minute warning.
Then, after an exchange of empty possessions, Brownlee found himself in transition and bearing down on Pogoy full speed. He got the foul and made both freebies to hand Ginebra back the lead, 71-70. The Barangay’s defense then smothered RHJ on TNT’s final two plays, double-teaming the Best Import shoo-in both times near the elbow to force a turnover and a hurried, off-balanced attempt for the win.
Brownlee led all scorers with 35 points on top of 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. He also went 12-for-14 from the line to make up for his 11-for-25 shooting clip. Thompson was also key as he fired 17 points—the only other ka-Barangay to score in double-digits—to go along with his 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
Hollis-Jefferson led the way for TNT with 25 points and 15 rebounds but was just 6-for-23 from the field. Nambatac finished with 14 off the bench and led the Tropa’s second half surge. Pogoy added 11.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra (71) – Brownlee 35, Thompson 16, J. Aguilar 8, Holt 7, Rosario 2, Ahanmisi 2, Abarrientos 1, Malonzo 0, Cu 0
TNT (70) – Hollis-Jefferson 25, Nambatac 14, Pogoy 11, Erram 6, Oftana 5, Khobuntin 4, Williams 2, Razon 2, Aurin 1, Heruela 0
Ginebra, TNT Set for Epic Game 3
With the series now tied at 1-1, expect a potentially epic Game 3 on Wednesday, March 19, at the PhilSports Arena. Ginebra will be looking to get a lead on TNT for the first since the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, when it went ahead 2-1 after winning Game 3 of that Finals. TNT, on the other hand, will look to bounce back from its dismal 32.9% shooting in Game 2 and reassert control of the series.
Game 3 on Wednesday is set at 7:30 p.m.
