TNT’s huge comeback from 24 points down fell short as reigning East Asia Super League champion Anyang escaped with a 88-76 victory on Wednesday evening at the PhilSports Arena.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 33 points that were laid to waste as the Tropang Giga bowed out of EASL contention after their fifth defeat in six group phase games.
Rondae’s older bro Rahlir was also a strong presence for TNT with 20 points and 12 boards. But the RHJ act didn’t get the support it needed as no other Tropang Giga player scored more than six points in the game.
"Unfortunately, that hot start by Anyang and the big run at the beginning was too much to overcome at the end. It was a big contrast the way they were shooting and we were shooting," TNT interim coach Josh Reyes rued.
"The good looks we had — we had airballs, missed layups, missed threes, missed free throws. We just wish that we could've started better to give ourselves a chance," he added.
The Korean side caught fire early with a 31-point outburst in the first quarter alone, stifling an already RHJ-centered TNT offense.
Despite the sheer lack of scoring contributions across the board, the Tropang Giga managed to cut a 24-point deficit to just five with four minutes left in the final frame, 73-78.
But a last-gasp fightback wasn't to be as a Rhenz Abando-less Anyang side delivered the final blow with a 10-3 counter-run to boot TNT out of the tournament through Seongwon Choi and Robert Carter Jr.'s joint 45-point output.
The scores:
Anyang (88) - Choi 23, Carter Jr. 22, Park 15, Wilson 15, Bae 11, Jung 2, W. Lee 0, Kho 0, Lee DNP, C. Kim DNP, S. Kim DNP, J. Lee DNP, Abando DNP.
TNT (76) - Ro. Hollis-Jefferson 33, Ra. Hollis-Jefferson 20, Reyes 6, Khobuntin 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Heruela 2, Pogoy 2, Ponferada 2, Montalbo 2, Cruz 0, Aurin 0.
Quarterscores: 34-19, 53-41, 71-61, 88-76.
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