(PBA images)
AN epic series deserves a final-game decider. And the TNT-Barangay Last Dance III is to finish that way.
True to their vow, the Tropang Giga fought like hell and quashed the Gin Kings’ series close-out bid with an 87-83 victory that instead sent the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals to a winner-take-all set on Friday.
Before 17,654 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his teammates came out locked in on their goal and banked on their resolve to outfight the Gin Kings in the crunch to forge a 3-3 deadlock in the race-to-four-games series.
The two teams will slug it out one last time Friday, also at the Big Dome, to determine who will take home the midseason hardware.
RHJ, Rey Nambatac, and Poy Erram all played big roles, each stepping up at winning times to keep alive the team’s hopes for back-to-back titles in the season.
Hollis-Jefferson was all heart and all guts, delivering game-highs of 29 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. He lived up to being the Best Player of the Conference awardee.
He did everything at the finish, defending, hustling, and, most importantly, making buckets, including the two charities that made it 87-83 with 6.2 ticks to go.
Nambatac emerged the second-best scorer with 23, including a buzzer-beating four-pointer to end the third, touching off what would be a crucial 13-0 run that would give them a 10-point lead before repelling a Ginebra fightback down the stretch.
Curiously, after his verbal spat with coach Chot Reyes last game, Erram had his own big moments. He scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth, going with his hustle plays, nothing bigger than a ball tap that had them keeping possession following missed free throws by their import.
That sent RHJ back into the charity lane. And making both this time, RHJ pushed TNT up by four at 87-83.
With 6.2 seconds to go, Scottie Thompson was able to throw a Hail Mary shot that just bounced off the board at the buzzer.
“We told the players this is our first do-or-die game with Rondae, so this is a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes, whose team previously held a 3-2 lead against Ginebra and went on to clinch the crown in six with the super import.
“Let’s grab this opportunity, go out there, play hard and compete. That’s what we wrote on the board – compete. If we lose, we lose. At least we’re not going down without a fight. Credit to the guys for giving it their all,” he added.