By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson foiled a Deon Thompson dunk and then raced the length of the floor for a layup. The next possession, he knocked the ball out of Adrian Nocum’s hands and then soared for an emphatic slam.
He served. He ate. And left no crumbs.
The TNT import presided over huge offensive thrust as he carried his team to a second straight Finals appearance after taking down Rain or Shine, 97-92, in Game 5 of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Friday, March 7.
Hollis-Jefferson, all while battling through foul trouble, took over on both ends of the floor, firing 42 points – 17 of which he fired in the final frame when the Tropang Giga suddenly took control of the contest after trailing by as many as 13 in the second half.
Still down 12 in the third frame, 51-63, TNT unloaded a back-breaking 16-4 run to come knocking at Rain or Shine’s door with one quarter left to play.
The Elasto Painters had some answers from Thompson and Andrei Caracut but the Tropang Giga just never let go of the momentum as their air tight defense completed consecutive stops to finally take the lead, 78-77, on a Hollis-Jefferson fadeaway.
TNT never looked back since then as it kept ROS at bay to book the franchise’s 24th finals appearance.
Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra came out waxing hot in the third and cruised to an easy 126-99 victory over NorthPort in Game 5 of their own series and forge a Finals rematch against TNT
Failing to complete the last time out, the Kings would not be denied as they unloaded a fiery 27-5 run to turn a once competitive contest at the break into another blowout game and complete a gentleman sweep of the Batang Pier in the best-of-seven affair.
NorthPort was very much into the game after the first 20 minutes of action only trailing by nine, 53-62, at the break before Ginebra came out of the halftime like a different beast, erecting a massive 31-point lead, 89-58 – an advantage it never relinquished the rest of the way.
RJ Abarrientos and Jamie Malonzo led the three-point barrage from Ginebra, combining for seven of the team’s 11 triples.
Abarrientos finished with 20 points to go with 10 assists while Malonzo also had the same scoring output to go with six rebounds.
Justin Brownlee also had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds while three other Kings also reached double figures.
Japeth Aguilar had 18 points, Scottie Thompson with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Troy Rosario with 11 before tweaking his right ankle in the third frame.
