TNT outplayed Barangay Ginebra, 104-88, in the opener of their highly-anticipated finals rematch for the PBA Governors Cup crown.
The Tropang Texters jumped the gun on the cold-shooting Kings, 15-4, to dictate the tempo of the game played amid an electrifying atmosphere created by a record crowd 11,021 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Kings managed to mount a few runs only to be stymied by the Tropang Giga each time.
Game One is in the books. Now the defending champion TNT and former champion Ginebra face each other again in Wednesday’s second game when the best-of-seven series shifts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A few of the takeaways in the series opener last Sunday:
1. GINEBRA SHOT BRICKS FROM LONG RANGE – as the best three-point shooting team, TNT knows it can’t beat Ginebra in a shootout. So coach Chot Reyes wanted every attempt by the Kings from beyond the arc to be challenged. For three quarters, the Tropang Giga drove their opponents away from their comfort zone and held them to a woeful 0-of-18 shooting. Import Justine Brownlee had the lone 4-point shot in the third period for the Kings. Ginebra eventually finished 2-of-21 from the three-point range courtesy of Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos. Still, the Kings’ 9.5 shooting percent from 3 was the worst in the finals for more than a decade since San Mig Coffee went 7.7 percent (1-of-13) over TNT in Game 1 of the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup finals also under the 66-year-old Cone. Despite the dismal shooting though, the Mixers’ won that match, 95-80.
2. CONE STICKS TO SHORT ROTATION – reinvigorated by a one-week respite, Cone opted to utilize the same rotation he had during the close-out Game 6 of the Kings’ semifinals series against the San Miguel Beermen. RJ Abarrientos and Ralph Cu came off the bench. Team captain LA Tenorio also had a brief cameo. Cu came through with 13 precious points, five rebounds, and six assists, but Thompson and Abarrientos were sorely missed by Ginebra as the two teamed up for a total of 12 points. Remember how the Ginebra backcourt duo came through for 28 and 22 points apiece in the Kings’ Game 5 win over the Beermen in the semis.
3. TNT GOT MAJOR SUPPORT FROM BENCH – with ‘The Blur’ rebooted, the Tropang Giga had plenty of help coming from their bench. Jayson Castro led the TNT bench brigade with 14 points on top of bringing his veteran leadership whenever he’s inside the court. Sophomore Kim Aurin also provided solid scoring and defense, so did Glenn Khobuntin and the ever reliable former MVP Kelly Williams. In the end, TNT outscored Ginebra on bench points, 31-22.
4 .JB AND RHJ CANCEL EACH OTHER OUT – the two Best Imports guarded each other most of the time and no one emerged the dominant player over the other. Brownlee finished with a game-high 23 points but was held to 38.1 percent shooting from the floor (8-of-21), while adding seven rebounds and six assists. Hollis-Jefferson meanwhile, had his lowest production in this season’s playoffs with 19 on 8-of-23 shooting (34.8 percent), and had 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and three blocks. Expect the two however, to take over the succeeding games of the series.
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