WELL-rested Barangay Ginebra and TNT scored victories right away in their respective PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals series that kicked off on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
Justine Brownlee and Stephen Holt proved a deadly combination for the Kings, who scored a lopsided 122-105 win over the listless San Miguel Beermen.
Reigning Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson drained the game-clincher for the Tropang Giga from 4-point range, 90-81, to take the fight out of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Ginebra and TNT try to make it two in a row on Friday when the series shifts to the Smart Araneta Coliseum, while San Miguel and Rain or Shine will go for a comeback in a bid to level the long series.
Here are the takeaways from Game 1 of the best-of-seven semis series.
1. HOLT FEELS AT HOME AT GINEBRA – last season’s Rookie of the Year may have fallen in love right away with Tim Cone’s triangle that in so short a time, he feels comfortable playing the complex offense. In his first ever semis stint, the Fil-Am sophomore surpassed his previous career best by tallying 30 points in the 17-point blowout of the Beermen. Holt, whose previous high was 28 while still with Terrafirma, shot 11-of-18 from the floor and had eight rebounds and four assists, almost replicating the numbers of Brownlee (33 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) whose only edge was his sizzling shooting from 4-point range where he went a near-perfect 5-of-6.
2. FAJARDO ALL BANGED UP – coming off a 40-point, 24-rebound job in the team’s sudden-death game against the Converge FiberXers, the 34-year-old Fajardo obviously has begun to feel the effects of the playoff grind. After dropping eight points in the opening period, the eighth-time MVP had another eight the rest of the way and couldn’t hold the fort for the Beermen the way he did against the FiberXers in their do-or-die Game 5. He still finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds, though his presence was hardly felt from the second period onwards.
3. RHJ CAN’T BE IGNORED – anyone planning to topple defending champion TNT will have to go through Hollis-Jefferson. And so far, the prolific former NBA player has been up to the task. The 29-year-old naturalized player of the Jordan national team raised the ante right in the semis opener after falling an assist short of a triple double. RHJ’s statsline read 26 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists as the seven-day rest appeared to have rejuvenated the import after dealing with a hurting ankle in the latter part of the group stage. Hollis-Jefferson is certainly dead-set on helping the Tropang Giga retain their title in his third stint with the telecommunication franchise.
4. TURNOVERS, FREE THROWS HURT ROS’ CAUSE – dating back to the Philippine Cup semis where they got swept by San Miguel, the Elasto Painters have now lost five in a row in the Final Four. Rain or Shine had 22 turnovers compared to the nine of TNT leading to an 18-10 edge on points off turnovers for the Tropang Giga. The Elasto Painters also shot poorly from the foul line with a 14-of-26 norm (53 percent), while the Tropang Giga were 14-of-18 (77 percent). They did have the edge in rebounds, 66-54 as import Aaron Fuller crashed the boards with 21. But for Rain or Shine to have a shot at the defending champions and make the finals for the first time in eight years, taking care of the ball and shooting well from the free throw line should be prioritized.
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