TNT’s aspirations to grab a commanding lead against Ginebra in the Big Dance were broken. To make matters worse, the wall inside the team’s dugout at the Mall of Asia Arena bore the team’s wrath.
The damage—with still no culprit identified at press time last night—came in the aftermath of the Tropang Giga’s numbing 70-71 loss to the Kings in Game 2 of their best-of-7 finals showdown in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The PBA said MOA Arena management is finalizing the billing statement for the wreckage and will inform the pro league of the cost. Asia’s pioneering league will then send the bill to the TNT camp.
In the highly emotional clash, mercurial Tropang Giga big man JP Erram kicked a cooler at the TNT bench late in the third quarter after fouling Ginebra star import Justin Brownlee. He headed to the locker room and also kicked some of the team’s equipment.
Erram later returned to the game that the Tropang Giga had the chance to win—only for two-time best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to fail to convert in their last two possessions.
Hollis-Jefferson took the responsibility for his missed tries, including one at the buzzer.
“I’ll probably watch that shot 20 times. You know, the last, I want to say, two or three possessions I didn’t even get a shot on?” Hollis-Jefferson posed. “So, that’s on me. I mean, that’s something I want to get better at, you know.
“That’s something I want to get better at or grow from it. You know, I’ll watch it. I’ll watch it. I’m not afraid to see where I messed up, or where I made a mistake. Hopefully, Chot (Reyes, TNT coach) calls me out on it. I’m good with that, so it’s all about getting better.”
Will the player who destroyed the wall be known?
