GUNSLINGER Calvin Oftana of defending champion TNT received a pass from reigning best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson at the top of the key and rose a three-point try against NLEX last night.
Bolstered by a fiery second half charge, the Tropang Giga waylaid the Road Warriors 107-102 in Game 1 of their best-of-5 quarterfinals in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Oftana let out a thundering roar and flexed his muscles after draining the clutch triple with 1:30 remaining that gave TNT a 100-91 separation. He only finished with eight points but it was not how much but when that mattered most.
Meralco and Ginebra, with returning Kings veteran big man Joe Devance in the fold, clash in the first tiff of their Last Eight duel while San Miguel Beer battles Converge at the same venue today.
TNT coach Chot Reyes said their pivotal adjustment on the defensive end proved to be among the keys in the series-opening victory.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult series and our defense obviously keyed on those two guys–DeQuan Jones and Robert Bolick. We thought if we could limit one of them, we would have a chance of winning. It’s very hard to stop both,” Reyes said. “In the first quarter when we were doing a good job on Bolick, their other guys were scoring and that accounted for the number of points they scored in the first quarter.
“That’s exactly what I said in the huddle, in the first quarter break, I said I can’t remember the time we gave up these many points in a single quarter. So, we just had to buckle down and tighten our defense and in the end the work paid off,” he added.
Hollis-Jefferson scattered a game-high 45 points, hauled down 10 rebounds and issued seven assists while Roger Pogoy chimed in with 13 markers, five boards and three dimes.
Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac also had 12 and 11 points, respectively, as TNT pulled through anew after a 99-79 whipping of NorthPort in its final group phase outing four nights back.
NLEX came off a 103-99 decision over Ginebra last Sunday.
The second game of the race-to-3 showdown is set tomorrow at the Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex.
The Tropang Giga yielded 29 first quarter points and a Javee Mocon basket gave NLEX its biggest lead 49-36 in the second canto before the Road Warriors settled for a 41-49 edge at the half.
Working behind Hollis-Jefferson, Pogoy, and Castro, TNT whittled the deficit and took a 73-71 buffer heading into the payoff period.
Jones sizzled with 38 points and 12 caroms for NLEX while Enoch Valdez and Baser Amer combined for 22.
Bolick was limited to just 10 markers.
The Tropang Giga have gained the early start but it’s a series. Can the Road Warriors bounce back?
