MANILA, Philippines – The TNT Tropang Giga shoot for a commanding 2-0 lead against Barangay Ginebra in the best-of-seven 2025 PBA Commissioners’ Cup Finals.
But TNT, of course, is well aware of a Ginebra side raring to tie the affair, backed by a likely big Sunday crowd at 7:30 pm on March 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We want to win every game, and we want to compete at the highest level, so I don’t want to be in that position but given the circumstance, you never know how basketball unfolds,” TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said after the Tropang Giga’s 95-89 win in Game 1.
In control since the late stages of the first quarter, TNT built a formidable 16-point gap at intermission, 55-39.
Although Ginebra, fueled again by its never-say-die mentality, trimmed the gap to as low as four, 93-89, Hollis-Jefferson made sure to keep TNT afloat and capped it with insurance free throws.
The Best Import of the Conference frontrunner finished with a near triple-double, posting a 34-point, 13-rebound, 8-assist performance.
“[Ginebra] was down 16 at halftime and ended up losing by six. It could have been the other way around,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
“Putting all those into consideration, we’re talking about resiliency, but we got Game 1.”
“And now it’s about focusing on the next game, to not let the lead drop and those mental lapses that we had take over the game. It’s about getting better.”
TNT nailed 8 of its 14 threes in the turning point of the first quarter, which saw them turn an early 3-9 deficit to a 29-18 spread by the start of the second.
Outside marksmanship came from multiple fronts, like RR Pogoy, Rey Nambatac, Glenn Khobuntin, and Kelly Williams.
Ginebra stalwart Justin Brownlee, who was recently hospitalized due to asthma, was able to put up 28 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 assists.
In last year’s Governors’ Cup finals, Ginebra trailed the series against TNT at 0-2 before succumbing the best-of-seven at 4-2.
That’s why Ginebra coach Tim Cone urgently wants to flip the script.
“It was a lot tougher series than it was the last one. We got a little bit confused out there. Credit their defense, they defended really well as usual,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.
“We got to step up our defense as well. We make way too many defensive mistakes. It’s Game 1. It’s not what we wanted. We’ll deal with it and move forward.” – Rappler.com
