MANILA – TNT Tropang 5G turned things around in the second half to score a 106-98 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in Game 4 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Jordan Heading came off the bench to deliver 29 points, including five three-point conversions, to go with eight assists and six rebounds as the Tropang 5G tied the series at 2-2.
Chris McCullough added a double-double of 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Jayson Castro, Calvin Oftana, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser tallied 14, 12, and 10, respectively, for TNT.
It was a tightly-contested game for both teams in the opening half with the Gin Kings clinging to a 53-50 halftime lead before the Tropang 5G turned things around in the third for a 75-68 edge.
TNT’s lead reached as high as 20 points early in the fourth, but Ginebra countered with a run to cut the deficit to six points, but the Tropang 5G relied on their defense to held on.
Justin Brownlee paced the Gin Kings with 32 points, Rhon Jay Abarrientos added 21 markers, while Japeth Aguilar and Jeth Troy Rosario ended with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Before the game, Abarrientos captured the Best Player of the Conference award, while Brownlee secured another Best Import of the Coference citation.
Abarrientos earned the first Best Player of the Conference award of his PBA career after playing a key role in steering the Gin Kings to the championship series against the TNT Tropang 5G.
The former Far Eastern University standout emerged on top of a strong field that included San Miguel Beermen star June Mar Fajardo and NLEX Road Warriors guard Robert Bolick Jr.
Brownlee, meanwhile, added another achievement to his decorated PBA career after being named Best Import of the Conference for the fourth time./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 106 – Heading 29, McCullough 24, Castro 14, Oftana 12, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Nambatac 7, Galinato 5, Pogoy 5, Khobuntin 0.
GINEBRA 98 – Brownlee 32, Abarrientos 21, J.Aguilar 12, Rosario 11, Holt 5, Thompson 4, Abis 4, Pinto 4, Gray 3, Cu 2, Go 0.
Quarterscores: 16-21, 50-53, 75-68, 106-98.
