Game 7.
That’s where the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals are headed after the TNT Tropang Giga eked out an 87-83 squeaker over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 6 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the Tropa’s fight back with 29 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals in another no-relief effort, while Rey Nambatac continued his stellar play in the Finals with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals on a hyper-efficient 9-for-14 clip from the field. TNT also got solid contributions from Poy Erram and Calvin Oftana, who each chipped in 14 while combining for 14 boards.
Justin Brownlee paced Ginebra with 22 points and 7 rebounds on 9-for-10 shooting from the field but with 7 turnovers. Scottie Thompson added 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists but coughed the ball up 4 times. Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt had 11 apiece and RJ Abarrientos played his best game of the Finals with 12 markers off the Ginebra bench.
TNT Takes Control with Two Big Runs in the Second Half
After 24 minutes of action, it looked like Ginebra was on the verge of ending it all, ending the first half ahead, 42-38. But TNT started the second half like a house on fire, scoring the first 11 points to turn a four-point deficit into a five-point advantage. The rest of the third quarter unfolded as a nip-and-tuck affair as both teams traded proverbial haymakers—with one looking to end the series and the other fighting to extend it to a Game 7.
A Holt triple with less than 10 seconds remaining put Ginebra ahead, 62-59, and seemingly gave the crowd darlings momentum going into the fourth. But Rey Nambatac came back and hit a buzzer-beating four-point shot to give TNT back the lead, 63-62, going into the payoff period.
That Nambatac four-pointer began a 13-0 TNT salvo bridging the last four seconds of the third and the first five minutes of the fourth to put the Tropang Giga ahead, 72-62. TNT was still leading, 76-66, when Ginebra cut the lead to 80-79 thanks to a 14-4 run spearheaded by Brownlee, who scored 9 points in that stretch.
But two free throws by RHJ restored order for the Tropa, who used well-timed fouls to manage their end game lead and send the PBA Finals to a Game 7.
Ginebra, TNT Dispute Crown in Game 7
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals resumes on Friday, March 28, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the two teams playing what promises to be an epic conclusion to these Finals.
Game 7 begins at 7:30 p.m.
The Scores:
TNT (87) – Hollis-Jefferson 29, Nambatac 23, Oftana 14, Erram 14, Khobuntin 4, Pogoy 3, Heruela 0, Aurin 0, Williams 0
Ginebra (83) – Brownlee 22, Thompson 12, Abarrientos 12, J. Aguilar 11, Holt 11, Malonzo 6, Rosario 6, Ahanmisi 3
