ARVIN Tolentino and Rondae Hollis Jefferson starred in Thursday night's PBA Governors' Cup as they led their respective teams to contrasting wins at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Hollis Jefferson spearheaded an 88-82 TNT victory over Magnolia in a gamef with a playoff atmosphere, while Tolentino showcased one of the most dominant scoring performances by a local player in recent years when he shot the lights out of the venue for 51 points in a 135-109 Northport blowout of Converge.
The Tropang Giga improved to a 3-1 record in Group B standings for the solo lead, while the Batang Pier tied the Meralco Bolts at 2-1 for second place.
Here’s a rundown of the takeaways during the Thursday twin bill.
1.BATTLE OF EX-NBA PLAYERS: RHJ EMERGED ON TOP – they know each other well having played in the NBA at about the same time. But on this night, Hollis-Jefferson was the better player against Magnolia counterpart Glenn Robinson III. The former Best Import tallied 32 points, 19 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals despite playing on a hurting ankle. The TNT import hobbled his way on the court, but still found a way to deliver the win for the defending champions. Robinson did not fare badly, coming through with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and three assists, but went silent during a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter that allowed TNT to pull away.
2.TOLENTINO’S STAR CONTINUES TO RISE – Tolentino further validated his status as a rising star in the league after resetting a new Northport scoring record of 51 points. The former Far Eastern University stalwart was in a zone all night long, torching all defenders thrown at him by the FiberXers, from Kevin Racal to Justine Arana to import Scotty Hopson. By doing so, he broke the franchise record of 50 points set by Stanley Pringle in 2018 and became the first homegrown player to score above 50 since the great Allan Caidic had 79 and Rudy Distrito 54 in their game in the 1991 Presto-Ginebra game. More so, his perfect 16-of-16 from the line equalled the all-time record among local players owned by four-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio, which he did in 1989 during the Purefoods-San Miguel contest.
3.ROUGH WEEK FOR DANNY I – He was summoned, fined, and then absorbed a blowout loss – all in a week’s time. Perhaps it’s the price to pay for former two-time MVP and now Converge deputy coach Danny Ildefonso for his comments deemed ‘detrimental to the league’ when he alluded to Northport as a ‘farm team.’ Lakay was emotional when he made the remark in answer to some fans’ criticism regarding the refusal of his son Dave Ildefonso to sign with Northport as its No. 5 overall pick in the last draft. The statement led to him being summoned and fined P120,000 by the Commissioner’s Office. And as if that’s not enough, the Batang Pier drew additional motivation and proceeded to demolish the FiberXers right in front of their coaching staff, Danny I. included.
4.TNT A WALKING WOUNDED TEAM – Kelly Williams and Henry Galinato still ride the bench for the Tropang Giga as they have yet to fully recover from their respective injuries. Even then, TNT had to play through the pain before eking out a close victory over Magnolia. Hollis Jefferson was hobbling with a hurting ankle, so did big man Poy Erram after slipping on a wet spot at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Calvin Oftana was a non-factor after being hit on the hip, while veteran Jayson Castro ended up with a bloodied nose following an inadvertent slap by Magnolia point guard Mark Barroca.
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