STA ROSA, Laguna - TNT finally stopped the bleeding in its EASL campaign, pulling off an 80-69 win over the Taipei Fubon Braves on Wednesday night at the Sta. Rosa Sports Complex.
Siblings Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson sparked a second-quarter run that enabled the Tropang Giga to finally take control by halftime, 48-42.
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TNT never relinquished the lead from there and even went up by as many as 13 points to finally break through after losing its first four games in the home and away season.
The two Hollis-Jefferson dominated the scoring for the Tropang Giga, with Rondae topscoring with 35 points, to go with 11 rebounds, and five assists and Rahlir, four years older, adding 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
A dampener, though, was Rondae hurting his back in a bad fall in the final 2:45 of the game and the outcome of the match more or less in the bag for TNT.
“It’s mixed emotions right now. We’re happy we finally got that monkey off our backs and finally got that W,” said TNT deputy coach Josh Reyes. “But at the same time, all our thoughts and prayers go out to Rondae.
“We’re very concerned as a unit right now. Good that we got the win, but right now the concern is Rondae and his well-being.”
The Tropang Giga kept their bid for a berth in the semifinals alive following the win, raising their record to 1-4 in Group A, just a notch below the Fubon Braves, who went down to 1-3.
Chiba Jets still continue to pace the group with a 4-0 slate, while second running is Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters at 2-1.
Anthony Johnson had 19 points and 20 rebounds, but committed seven turnovers for Taipei.
Of interest was the presence of Fil-Am Sedrick Barefield in the Fubon Braves roster where he finished with 15 points, four rebounds, and five assists.
The scores
TNT (80) – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 35, Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson 22, Oftana 15, Khobuntin 6, Tolomia 2, Heruela 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Aurin 0, Galinato 0, Ponferrada 0, Cruz 0.
Taipei Fubon Braves (69) – Johnson 19, Barefield 15, Zaytsev 10, Fan 9, Chou 5, Guinchard 3, Hung 3, Smart 3, Jian 2, Wu 0, Tseng 0.
Quarterscores: 17-21; 48-42; 62-58; 80-69.
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