TNT drew first blood in its PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup semifinal playoff against Rain or Shine, pulling away to a 90-81 win on Wednesday at the Philsports Arena.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scored 26 points while Rey Nambatac had 11 third-quarter points against his former team as the Tropang Giga outscored the Elasto Painters, 36-23, in that stretch on their way to the Game One win.
Hollis-Jefferson actually had a double-double by grabbing 13 points. He also hit the dagger shot by draining a four-pointer for a 90-79 lead with 1:47 left, thwarting any Rain or Shine comeback bid.
Game Two is scheduled on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
READ: Brownlee on fire as Ginebra dominates SMB in Game One
TNT pulled away in the third after being down, 43-39, but head coach Chot Reyes felt the pace of the game were on the side of his team
“We were down by four (at the half) but I felt the pace was in our favor. We missed a few lay-up, we made some mistakes, turnovers that led to their fastbreak points, that’s why they had a four-point lead,” said Reyes.
“But by in large, we were very happy with the pace of the game and how the game was going at halftime even when we were down four. All I said at halftime is we have them where we want them, so relax and go into the second half and execute what we practice."
Roger Pogoy had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Calvin Oftana had 11 points and 10 rebounds for TNT.
Aaron Fuller had 18 points and 21 rebounds, while Gian Mamuyac had 14 points, but a few players struggled offensively with Jhonard Clarito scoring only six, and Andrei Caracut, the hero in Game Five of their quarterfinal series against Magnolia, limited to only a point.
The scores:
TNT 90 – Hollis-Jefferson 26, Pogoy 16, Nambatac 14, Oftana 11, Castro 9, Aurin 6, Erram 5, Khobuntin 3, Galinato 0, Williams 0, Heruela 0.
Rain or Shine 81 – Fuller 18, Mamuyac 14, Asistio 13, Nocum 7, Lemetti 7, Clarito 6, Datu 6, Norwood 5, Santillan 4, Caracut 1, Belga 0.
Quarters: 22-24; 39-43; 75-66; 90-81.
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