TNT further pulled away from Rain or Shine, while San Miguel evened things up with Barangay Ginebra.
That’s Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals in a nutshell after the Tropang 5G whipped the Elasto Painters, 108-92, while the Beermen levelled their series against the Kings following a 107-82 blowout.
READ: SMB comes out firing in Game Four, evens series vs Ginebra at 2-2
TNT now holds a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven duel, just a win away of making it back to the finals and moving closer to its goal of scoring a rare grand slam.
Top seeded San Miguel on the other hand, scored a second runaway win against Ginebra as the two reduced their own semis series to a best-of-three affair.
Here now are four of the major takeaways in Wednesday’s twin bill at the Mall of Asia Arena.
1.GABE NORWOOD SHOWS OFFENSIVE BAG
The veteran guard known more for his defensive play found his scoring rhythm and ended up as the top scorer for Rain or Shine with 18 points going two of five from the three-point area. The 40-year-old Norwood also added nine rebounds.
He scored the bulk of his points in the opening quarter where he went for 10 points as the Elasto Painters ended the first 12 minutes of play on top, 28-22. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t sustain its fiery start and lost to the Tropang 5G anew.
By the way, Norwood has been active offensively for Rain or Shine in the semifinals, averaging a fourth-best 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in four games.
2.HURTING HAMSTRING BEHIND SCOTTIE’S ‘ZERO REBOUND’ STINT?
In a rare night when one of the PBA’s best rebounding guards in history failed to crash the boards, not even once.
Now the question is if Thompson’s hamstring injury is beginning to bother him. The Barangay Ginebra guard is quietly playing through the injury which he obviously suffered in Game 1 of the series which the Kings won in typical Ginebra come-from-behind fashion, 73-71.
The former MVP was suffering cramps in the endgame and even during the post-game presser. From the looks of it, the injury is starting to take its toll on the 31-year-old former star of University of Perpetual Help as shown by his rebound-less stint in close to 25 minutes of play.
3.TNT BENCH MOB ROSE TO THE OCCASION
With its starting unit ‘falling like flies’ as coach Chot Reyes described the state of the Tropang 5Gs’ health, the bench mob made its presence felt and rallied back the team after playing catch up in the first half.
Glen Khobuntin, Kim Aurin, Poy Erram, Almon Vosotros, and back-up big Henry Galinato did their share and carried the fight for TNT in the third quarter to outscore Rain or Shine, 39-22, and finally turn the game around.
In the end, the Tropang 5G bench outscored its Elasto Painters counterpart, 45-30, led by the 16 points of Khobuntin, while the TNT bigs dominated the paint, 52-28, as Erram and Galinato combined for 16 points.
4.JUNE MAR SLOWLY GETTING BACK IN GROOVE
Although not yet fully healthy, but the eighth-time MVP is getting back his rhythm despite still nursing a calf injury. Coach Leo Austria decided to bring the 6-foot-10 Fajardo back as part of San Miguel’s starting unit.
The 35-year-old Cebuano finished with 12 points and a massive 19 rebound haul to help San Miguel beat Ginebra off the boards, 50-40. His playing minutes has also gradually increased as he suited up for a total of 31 minutes – the most for Fajardo in the semis since logging 33 minutes in the series opener loss where Fajardo aggravated his calf injury.
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