The TNT Tropang Giga is two wins away from defending the PBA Governors’ Cup crown.
This after TNT dominated Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the last three-quarters of Game 2 en route to a 96-84 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday—and the 2-0 series lead.
The Tropa actually started flat, falling behind early, 21-11, and going 1-for-8 from deep in the first eight minutes of Game 2. But TNT soon got its bearings back and it was pretty much all Tropa the rest of the way, starting with a 38-20 run bridging the final three minutes of the opening frame and the entire second quarter.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led TNT’s furious second canto, opening up the quarter with back-to-back triples to give the Tropa the lead. The Best Import candidate finished the first half with 17 points on four booming triples and was ably backed by Calvin Oftan and Glenn Khobuntin, who scored 10 apiece before intermission.
Ginebra Fights Back in the Second Half, TNT Counters Right Back
Ginebra, though, would regain the lead early in the second half with a 9-0 run to start the third. The Barangay pushed the lead to as much as six, 57-51 on a longer 16-2 spurt in the first five minutes after halftime. But the Tropa countered with its own 10-0 blast to retake the lead, 61-57, midway through the third. The two teams then went back and forth, with TNT ending the quarter barely ahead, 72-71.
Back-to-back triples to start the final frame would be all the separation TNT needed, nudging ahead 78-71 and never looking back after that. Timely hits, mostly on open jumpers and trey balls from the high pick-and-roll stymied every Ginebra uprising as the Tropa cruised to the Game 2 win and inched halfway to another championship.
Hollis-Jefferson led the way for TNT with 37 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists in a no-relief effort that saw also saw him stifle counterpart Justin Brownlee to only 19 markers (on 7-for-17 shooting). Oftana and Khobuntin added 13 apiece, while Jayson Castro had 9 points and 7 dimes. Scottie Thompson tried to carry the fight for Ginebra, finishing with 18 points, 9 caroms, and 4 assists, while Stephen Holt and Japeth Aguilar each had 11.
Game 3 is on Friday, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
- TNT 96 – Hollis-Jefferson 37, Oftana 13, Khobuntin 13, Castro 9, Pogoy 9, Nambatac 6, Erram 4, Williams 3, Aurin 2
- GINEBRA 84 – Brownlee 19, Thompson 18, Holt 11, J.Aguilar 11, Abarrientos 7, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 7, Pinto 4
