The PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis got underway on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum after the league took a two-week break for Gilas Pilipinas. The TNT Tropang Giga took on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the first game and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel faced off with the NorthPort Batang Pier in the second. Here’s a recap of both games:
TNT Escapes Rain or Shine Behind Vintage Jayson Castro Performance
Jayson Castro delivered a masterpiece to help the TNT Tropang Giga to a hard-fought 88-84 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to start the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis.
Castro fired a team-high 24 points on 6-for-7 shooting from downtown, including three in a fiery stretch in the third quarter. Calvin Oftana added 22 as he also made six triples, including four straight in the second quarter to help TNT overcome a 12-point Rain or Shine advantage. Castro and Oftana’s red-hot shooting more than made up for import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s paltry 8-for-27 clip from the field.
The Best Import favorite nonetheless finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks and made a crucial defensive stop on Rain or Shine import Deon Thompson with under two minutes left—one of four crucial stops TNT had in the last two minutes to preserve the win.
Thompson led the way for Rain or Shine with 29 points and 16 rebounds as he proved up to the task of going up against the PBA Governors’ Cup champs. Adrian Nocum added 18 but was silent in the fourth.
The Scores:
TNT (88) – Castro 24, Hollis-Jefferson 23, Oftana 22, Pogoy 9, Nambatac 4, Williams 2, Aurin 2, Erram 2, Khobuntin 0, Heruela 0, Galinato 0
Rain or Shine (84) – Thompson 29, Nocum 18, Datu 9, Clarito 6, Mamuyac 4, Caracut 3, Tiongson 3, Lemetti 3, Asistio 3, Norwood 0
Ginebra Handles NorthPort After Third Quarter Uprising
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel served notice to the NorthPort Batang Pier that the semifinals are on a different level, racing out to a 115-93 Game 1 win behind some hot shooting and a stingy, smothering defense.
Justin Brownlee led the way, firing a team-high 19 points on three triples. But it was the superb play of the locals that had Ginebra in full control as Troy Rosario, Jamie Malonzo, and RJ Abarrientos helped the crowd darlings to a 32-14 third quarter to break the game open.
Rosario finished with 16 markers and 8 boards, while Abarrientos had 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Malonzo, meanwhile, played his best game for Ginebra since returning from injury as he scored 14. He also played a big role in shutting down NorthPort leading scorer Arvin Tolentino to just 8 points—15 off his league-leading 23.2 average.
Kadeem Jack led all scorers with 33 points but missed the local support he usually gets, with only Joshua Munzon and his 10 points scoring in double-digits. Munzon and Tolentino combined for 51 big points in Northport’s elims victory over Ginebra.
The Scores:
Barangay Ginebra (115) – Brownlee 19, Rosario 16, Abarrientos 15, Malonzo 14, J. Aguilar 11, Cu 9, Holt 7, Mariano 7, Thompson 6, Ahanmisi 5, R. Aguilar 3, Pessumal 2, Pinto 1, Adamos 0
NorthPort (93) – Jack 33, Munzon 10, Tolentino 8, Navarro 8, Nelle 7, Onwubere 7, Taha 6, Bulanadi 4, Cuntapay 3, Yu 3, Miranda 2, Flores 2
PBA Commissioner’s Cup Semis Continues
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis will continue on Friday at the PhilSports Arena for Game 2 of both series. Ginebra and NorthPort lock horns at 5:00 p.m., while Rain or Shine and TNT go at it again at 7:30 p.m.
