Mga laro ngayon:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. – Blackwater vs NLEX
7:30 p.m. – Ginebra vs Phoenix
BINALEWALA ng TNT ang problema sa tao at pinulbos ang Terrafirma, 107-89, upang muling sumalo sa Group A lead sa PBA Governors’ Cup kagabi sa Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Nalusutan ni Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ang ankle injury upang tumapos na may 26 points, 11 rebounds, at 7 assists at gumanap ng key role sa 15-3 run ng Tropang Giga para sa 100-83 kalamangan, may 2:34 sa orasan.
Naging bahagi rin sina Kim Aurin, Glenn Khobuntin, at Rey Nambatac sa naturang decisive surge na nagdala sa TNT sa ikalawang sunod na panalo at 4-1 record overall upang makatabla ang sister team Meralco sa ibabaw ng bracket.
Higit na naging impresibo ang panalo dahil nakamit nila ito
kahit sinamahan ni Calvin Oftana sina Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Henry Galinato at Kelly Williams sa sidelines dahil sa injury.
“Willpower, resiliency,” ang paliwanag ni how Hollis-Jefferson sa kanyang katapangan sa paglalaro na may injury na kanyang natamo sa 88-82 decision kontra Magnolia noong nakaraang linggo.
“There was some pain, but they told me that nothing’s broke or anything like that. I’ve played through pain my entire life so strap ’em up and let’s go.”
“That’s the reason why we tried to really elevate our depth as much as possible because we know that injuries are a part of any tournament, any campaign and we hardly had any practice because Rondae couldn’t run on his ankle until two days ago,” wika ni TNT coach Chot Reyes.
“I was really worried because we were not able to get good practices until yesterday,” dagdag ni Reyes. “So, I said we just have to rely on our ability to make stops and defend.”
Maging ang Terrafirma ay kulang din sa players kung saan wala si Juami Tiongson dahil sa partial tear sa kanyang left hamstring, gayundin si Kemark Carino dahil sa groin injury.
Sa kabila nito ay lumaban ang Dyip, na nahulog sa 0-5, at nagbanta sa 80-85 makaraang malamangan ng hanggang 10 points sa opening quarter.
Gayunman ay nagpakawala si Khobuntin ng straightaway triple upang sindihan ang decisive surge na pinangunahan ng apat na sunod na puntos ni Hollis-Jefferson at ng triple nina Aurin at Nambatac.
Nasayang ang pagbawi ni Antonio Hester mula sa two-point performance sa 103-124 loss sa Magnolia noong Linggo nang magtala ng 23 points at 18 rebounds.
Nanguna para sa Dyip si Christian Standhardinger na may double-double na 18 points at 14 boards habang nalimitahan si Stanley Pringle sa 12 points subalit kumalawit ng 12 boards.
CLYDE MARIANO
Iskor:
TNT (107) – Hollis-Jefferson 26, Pogoy 14, Erram 14, Aurin 13, Nambatac 10, Castro 10, Khobuntin 7, Exciminiano 7, Heruela 3, Payawal 3, Ebona 0, Vosotros 0.
TERRAFIRMA (89) – Hester 23, Standhardinger 18, Hernandez 13, Ferrer 13, Pringle 12, Hanapi 3, Cahilig 3, Sangalang 2, Ramos 2, Olivario 0, Grospe 0.
QUARTERS: 30-22, 55-49, 76-68, 107-89
