BY REYNALD MAGALLON
Defending champion TNT left nothing to chance and made sure to dispatch NLEX in a dominant fashion, 125-96, and punch its ticket to the semifinals in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Sensing blood in the water, the Tropang Giga displayed a sense of urgency and came out firing on all cylinders as they raced to a sizable margin through the first two quarters and never looked back from there to close out the best-of-five series, 3-1.
Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, as usual, were all over the floor for TNT with 35 points and 11 rebounds while Rey Nambatac and RR Pogoy provided ample support with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Calvin Oftana also chalked up a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while Glenn Khobuntin and Poy Erram added 11 and 10, respectively, for TNT which made it back to the Final Four after missing on it the last conference.
Meantime, Paul Lee broke out of his shooting slump in the playoffs and spearheaded the hot-shooting Magnolia to a 129-100 romp of Rain or Shine and force a do-or-die Game 5.
Struggling the past two games, Lee finally connected on his outside shooting, highlighted by the two four-pointers that opened the floodgates for the Hotshots in the second frame en route to the lopsided victory that tied the best-of-five series to a 2-2 affair.
Lee buried three quadshots in total to finish with 25 points – 15 of which he also poured in the third to keep Rain or Shine at bay. He also added six assists while import Jabari Bird unloaded 30 points to help Magnolia regain their composure after a wild and dramatic Game 3 loss.
THE SCORES
FIRST GAME:
MAGNOLIA 129 – Bird 30, Lee 25, Ahanmisi 14, Barroca 10, Sangalang 10, Abueva 9, Dionisio 9, Dela Rosa 9, Mendoza 8, Eriobu 5, Laput 0
RAIN OR SHINE 100 – Fuller 22, Clarito 15, Belga 11, Nocum 11, Caracut 11, Mamuyac 10, Asistio 5, Santillan 4, Tiongson 4, Ildefonso 4, Datu 2, Lemetti 1, Norwood 0
QUARTERS : 26-26, 62-44, 99-79, 129-100
SECOND GAME:
TNT 125 – Hollis-Jefferson 35, Nambatac 19, Pogoy 18, Oftana 11, Khobuntin 11, Erram 10, Williams 5, Aurin 5, Exciminiano 4, Payawal 3, Castro 2, Heruela 2, Ebona 0, Galiinato 0, Varilla 0
NLEX 96 – Bolick 25, Jones 21, Policarpio 12, Nermal 10, Torres 9, Anthony 5, Valdez 4, Semerad 3, Herndon 2, Nieto 2, Fajardo 2, Mocon 1, Rodger 0, Miranda 0, Amer 0
QUARTERS : 35-25, 66-46, 95-74, 125-96
