TNT closes out Rain or Shine for PBA finals return
Game Sunday (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7:30 p.m. - Ginebra vs San Miguel (Semifinals Game 6)
Ginebra leads best-of-seven series, 3-2
ANTIPOLO – Back in the Last Dance and ready to take on their final challenger to the PBA Governors’ Cup crown.
Bent on reaching the championship round at the soonest possible time, holder TNT carried out its semifinal closeout mission against Rain or Shine with all its might and came away with a roaring 113-95 romp in Game 5 Friday night at the Ynares Center.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson typified the Tropang Giga’s determined effort at a 4-1 clincher as he turned in a comprehensive line of 36 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and six steals.
RHJ and company gunned down 12 unanswered points at the start of the second canto to create separation and set the tone for the runaway win as they kept their hunt for back-to-back diadems in the import-flavored conference going.
The five-game disposal of pesky ROS afforded the Chot Reyes-coached TNT extra days of breather with the best-of-seven championship series tipping off on Oct. 27 yet.
As the Tropang Giga play the waiting game, Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer would kill each other off in their side of the Final Four. The Gin Kings wrested control of this back-and-forth series with a 121-92 romp earlier.
“We’re ready,” Hollis-Jefferson said of their finals stint. “All we can do for tonight is enjoy ourselves. We got a win and we’re going to the finals but that’s not the end for us, we want to be champions at the end of the day. So we know we got to do, take this rest and lock in, see who wins the other series and start that process.”
Earlier, rookie RJ Abarrientos and former MVP Scottie Thompson took the cudgels as the Gin Kings regained control against the Beermen and went a win away from the finale.
Abarrientos fired a career-high 28 while Scottie Thompson shot 22 to ease the burden on Justin Brownlee, who had 18-9-7.
The scores:
TNT 113 – Hollis-Jefferson 36, Pogoy 19, Aurin 12, Oftana 10, Nambatac 8, Erram 8, Williams 8, Khobuntin 8, Galinato 4, Heruela 0, Payawal 0, Varilla 0, Ebona 0.
Rain or Shine 95 – Fuller 14, Nocum 13, Mamuyac 11, Datu 11, Caracut 11, Santillan 10, Norwood 8, Belga 5, Ildefonso 5, Escandor 3, Lemetti 2, Clarito 2, Asistio 0, Villegas 0.
Quarterscores: 28-25, 56-39, 90-70, 113-95.
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