ANTIPOLO CITY – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had another double-double, Glenn Khobuntin was a revelation by being perfect from threes, and TNT moved one win away from a semifinal berth after defeating NLEX, 109-91, on Saturday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center.
The Tropang Giga won Game Three in a rout after also turning up a notch on defense by limiting the production of DeQuan Jones, who scored his fewest points in his stint with the Road Warriors to take a 2-1 series lead in the quarterfinal series.
TNT can close the series on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
READ: NLEX proves tougher late in Game 2 to even QFs series vs. TNT
Hollis-Jefferson had 27 points, 12 rebounds, and eight rebounds to set the tone for TNT, which led for most of the way including a 108-82 advantage late in the fourth.
Khobuntin was a spark off the bench to finish with 17 points, hitting five of TNT’s 15 threes in the contest, while also grabbing six rebounds.
The Tropang Giga were also solid defensively, with Jones scoring just 16 points – including six in the first half – after going 0-of-4 from threes.
“For any team in this league to win by a big margin, it has to be a combination of good defense with good offense,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes. “Finally, tonight, we were able to get both.”
Calvin Oftana added 18 points on 3-of-7 from threes, while Rey Nambatac, plagued with fouls in Game Two, had 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists for the Tropang Giga.
With Jones struggling, Robbie Herndon led the way with 17 points and five assists, while Robert Bolick had 12 points and 10 assists.
The scores:
TNT 109 – Hollis-Jefferson 27, Oftana 18, Nambatac 17, Khobuntin 17, Williams 11, Pogoy 8, Castro 6, Erram 4, Aurin 1, Heruela 0, Ebona 0, Payawal 0, Galinato 0.
NLEX 91 – Herndon 17, Jones 16, Bolick 12, Policarpio 11, Anthony 9, Valdez 6, Torres 5, Mocon 4, Semerad 3, Rodger 3, Amer 2, Nieto 2, Nermal 1, Miranda 0.
Quarters: 32-21; 51-40; 89-68; 109-91.
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