THE TNT Tropang Giga may have smothered the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings in Game 1, 104-88, in their Philippine Basketball Association Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
But coach Chot Reyes expects the Gin Kings to bounce back in Game 2 on Wednesday.
“We have to be ready,” said Reyes when the Kings shoot for a bounce-back win against his Tropang Giga at the Araneta Coliseum.
Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson worked tirelessly and played without relief for three quarters when the TNT Tropang Giga stopped Barangay Ginebra in the opener of their Governors’ Cup showdown.
Hollis-Jefferson went on power the Tropang Giga with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“That’s the kind of player that he is. That’s why we played him the way we played him in the run up to the finals,” said Reyes.
The 6’6” Hollis Jefferson was held below his averages of 26.2 points and 12 points by Ginebra’s hardworking defenders and counterpart Justin Brownlee, who struck with 23 points and seven boards.
But Hollis-Jefferson’s teammates stepped up and their defense and disruption of the opposing team’s outside shooting kept Ginebra at bay.
Playing before a record crown of 11,021, the Gin Kings almost got gagged from the three-point and four-point range.
The Tropang Giga managed to down their rivals to just 12 points in the first six minutes of the third period, en route to a 72-62 edge before the start of the last quarter.
With Hollis-Jefferson playing limited minutes in the last period, Rey Nambatac’s efforts in the fourth period pushed the Tropang Giga to a comfortable 20-point lead.
Nambatac, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and two steals to earn Player of the Game honors, unloaded 12 points in the last canto.
