MANILA – TNT Tropang Giga overcame a flat start to defeat NLEX Road Warriors, 107-102, in Game 1 of the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Down 75-80 early in the fourth quarter, the Tropang Giga rode on consecutive hits by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Roger Pogoy to take an 81-80 lead before widening the advantage to 90-84 on baskets by Hollis-Jefferson.
The Road Warriors managed to cut the deficit to 91-93 but free throws by Hollis-Jefferson and five straight points from Calvin Oftana and two free throws from Hollis-Jefferson to expand the lead to 102-93.
NLEX made their last push at 97-102 on a four-point shot by DeQuan Jones, but TNT leaned on free throw conversions from Hollis-Jefferson to wrap up the come-from-behind win.
Hollis-Jefferson finished with 45 points, with 34 coming in the second half, to go with 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals as the Tropang Giga took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five semis series.
“I mean being import you will see a lot of defenses,” Hollis-Jefferson said in a post-game presser. “I just do not want to force anything (in the first half) but I got aggressive in the second half.”
Pogoy added 13 markers, while Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac contributed 12 and 11 markers, respectively, and Oftana ended with eight markers for the reigning champions TNT.
“We knew that it is going to be a difficult series and our defense is keyed on those two guys—DeQuan Jones and Robert Bolick Jr. It is very hard for us to stop both of them,” said TNT head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes.
“In the first quarter, when we were stopping Bolick, their other guys stepped up, we just had to buckled down and tightened the defense, and in the end the work paid off,” he added.
Jones finished with a double-double of 38 points and 12 rebounds, Enoch Valdez and Baser Amer added 11 markers apiece, and Bolick struggled with just 10 points for the Road Warriors./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 107 – Hollis-Jefferson 45, Pogoy 13, Castro 12, Nambatac 11, Williams 9, Oftana 8, Khobuntin 7, Erram 7, Erram 2, Aurin 0, Exciminiano 0, Heruela 0.
NLEX 102 – Jones 38, Valdez 11, Amer 11, Bolick 10, Rodger 9, Mocon 8, Miranda 7, Semerad 3, Torres 3, Policarpio 2.
Quarterscores : 24-29, 41-49, 73-71, 107-102.
