The PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis continued on Sunday, with the four teams doing battle at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Here’s a recap of both games:
Rain or Shine Escapes TNT, Gets on the Board
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters couldn’t get the job in a close Game 2. They made sure they didn’t make the same mistake in Game 3, making big plays down the stretch to pull out a 103-98 victory in another slugfest with the TNT Tropang Giga.
Adrian Nocum, Gian Mamuyac, and Caelan Tiongson conspired in the fourth to tow the Elasto Painters to what seemed like a safe 98-90 lead with less than a minute remaining. But there was no quit in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who hit back-to-back four-pointers to make the game more interesting. But Mamuyac sealed the deal with two clutch free throws with 3.2 seconds left.
Nocum finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Tiongson had 18 and 7. Deon Thompson bucked a scoreless first quarter to lead Rain or Shine in the middle quarters with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
RHJ led all scorers with 34 markers on top of 19 rebounds, with RR Pogoy chipping in 21 in his best scoring game of the series so far. But the Tropa got a measly 2 points from starting point guard Rey Nambatac, who is expected to step up now that Jayson Castro is out for the season with a knee injury.
The Scores:
Rain or Shine (103) – Thompson 19, Tiongson 18, Nocum 16, Asistio 12, Mamuyac 9, Santillan 8, Clarito 7, Norwood 7, Datu 4, Caracut 3, Lemetti 0
TNT (98) – Hollis-Jefferson 34, Pogoy 21, Oftana 13, Erram 10, Williams 8, Aurin 8, Nambatac 2, Khobuntin 2, Heruela 0, Razon 0
Ginebra Wallops NorthPort, Sets Sights on Finals
Three games, three dominant wins.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel underscored its mastery of the NorthPort Batang Pier with a 127-100 victory on Sunday—its third straight blowout in this series.
Like in Game 2, Ginebra jumped the gun on NorthPort right in the first half, racing out to a 30-21 lead after one and extending it to 64-40 at halftime. Jamie Malonzo starred for Ginebra’s dominant first half, firing 16 points and at one point scoring 14 straight points—including three consecutive triples—to turn a 45-33 lead into a 58-35 advantage.
Malonzo went on to topscore for Ginebra with 25 on top of 8 rebounds as he showed what he can bring to Ginebra when healthy. Justin Brownlee added 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in three quarters, while Japeth Aguilar followed up his 31-point Game 2 with 17 points and 7 boards. RJ Abarrientos chipped in 10 points and 10 assists.
Kadeem Jack finished with a game-high 32 points for NorthPort but once again got little help, with Arvin Tolentino and Joshua Munzon combining for only 20—15 for Tolentino and just 5 for Munzon. Paolo Taha was the only other Batang Pier to score in double-digits with 11 off the bench.
The Scores:
Ginebra (127) – Malonzo 25, Brownlee 22, J. Aguilar 17, Thompson 15, Rosario 10, Abarrientos 10, Ahanmisi 6, Holt 5, Pessumal 4, Gray 4, R. Aguilar 3, Adamos 2, Mariano 2, Tenorio 2, Cu 0, Pinto 0
NorthPort (100) – Jack 32, Tolentino 15, Taha 11, Yu 6, Miranda 6, Bulanadi 6, Munzon 5, Cuntapay 5, Flores 4, Nelle 3, Navarro 3, Tratter 2, Onwubere 2
PBA Commissioner’s Cup: The Semifinals Continue
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis will continue on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with Ginebra gunning for a Finals berth in the first game at 5:00 p.m. Rain or Shine and TNT will battle it out in the second game, with the former looking to tie the series and the latter aiming to reestablish control.
