MANILA, Philippines — Mix long-range bombing to TNT’s practically impenetrable defensive wall and you have a surefire recipe for success.
With this lethal combo, the Tropang Giga crushed the NLEX Road Warriors, 109-91, to regain control of their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal duel at 2-1 last night at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
In a big bounceback to their bungled attempt at a 2-0 lead two nights ago in a 90-93 Game 2 loss in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, the defending champions rained 15 triples to create separation in the pivotal Game 3 tiebreaker. Then they let their punishing defense take care of the rest.
Glenn Khobuntin, one of TNT’s point persons in its stop-DeQuan Jones-mission, showcased his offensive chops and even led the squad with a perfect 5-of-5 clip from downtown.
Joining Khobuntin in the three-point party were Calvin Oftana with three, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Rey Nambatac and RR Pogoy with two apiece and Kelly Williams with one. Nambatac accounted for TNT’s lone make from the fourth-point arc.
The Tropang Giga’s defensive schemes held Jones to 16 on a 7-of-16 shooting and Robert Bolick to 12 on a 3-of-8 field goal. Their shot-stopping ways resulted in 15 fastbreak points for the troops of Chot Reyes, 12 more than the Road Warriors’ transition tally.
“For any team in this league to win by a big margin, it has to be a combination of good defense and good offense. Finally, we were able to put both together,” said Reyes, whose team can clinch the coveted semifinal ticket in Game 4 tomorrow.
Hollis-Jefferson, atoning for his costly errors late in Game 2, scattered a near triple-double performance of 27 markers, 12 rebounds and eight assists with just a single turnover.
Rebounding from his nine-point showing last time, Oftana shot 18 with five boards as Nambatac and Khobuntin matched statlines of 17-6.
Later, inspired by the return by Aaron Fuller, Rain or Shine survived a wild ending in a 111-106 overtime victory over Magnolia to get on the hill after three matches.
Fuller, who played through an eye injury he sustained in their 69-121 blowout loss in Game 2 , had a 29-11-6 statsline and made the big plays in winning time.