By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson showed nerves of steel and saved TNT some blushes against a late charge from Meralco, 101-99, in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
The Tropang Giga squandered a huge 23-point lead but recovered just in time with the last conference’s Best Import draining two pressure-packed free throws with 10.9 seconds left to notch their third straight victory.
Hollis-Jefferson either made or assisted TNT’s last 10 points as the Tropang Giga engaged the Bolts on a see-saw battle inside the last two minutes.
A Hollis-Jefferson layup made it 99-97 for TNT with 1:11 left but Chris Banchero replied with a basket of his own to knot the game once more. The Tropang Giga then forced a stop on the other end and Hollis-Jefferson forced a foul on Meralco import Akil Mitchell for the marginal free throws.
The Bolts had one last chance to either win it all with a trey or send the game to an overtime with a deuce but the Tropang Giga managed to put a stop to the initial attack of Chris Newsome.
With the time running out, Meralco was forced to take a three-point attempt from Cliff Hodge which he missed as the shot clock expired.
Hollis-Jefferson filled the stat sheet with 24 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks while Calvin Oftana amply supported him with 24 points built on three triples.
Rey Nambatac had 15 while RR Pogoy added 12 for TNT which initially looked to be breaking the game wide open in the first half after taking a 44-21 lead.
Meanwhile,
Hulking import Donovan Smith flexed his muscles and towed Phoenix to a 122-108 victory over Terrafirma and back to the winning column.
With his team in dire need of victory to keep itself in contention for a playoff spot, Smith put the Fuel Masters on his shoulders and dropped 37 points to go with seven rebounds and five blocks to add to the misery of the still winless Dyip.
The win pumped life to Phoenix’s playoff hopes as it improved to a 2-5 record although the Fuel Masters are still outside the magic 8 at the 11th spot.
Still, the win was an encouraging sign and could even be the start of better fortunes for Phoenix which opened the conference winless through four games with half of it decided only by three or less points.
Even the game against Terrafirma looked to be heading into a tight affair with the Dyip rallying in the second half and even cut a once 16-point deficit to just eight with four minutes left in the final frame.
Smith, however, along with Jason Perkins made sure they would not be denied this time as they took turns in delivering the big hits to keep Terrafirma at bay.
Perkins added 16 points while Ricci Rivero and Tyler Tio added 14 and 10 for Phoenix which seized control of the contest behind a searing 31-13 second quarter explosion.
