MANILA, Philippines—The prospect of getting the best record in PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round may have been enough of a motivation for the rest of TNT, but import Terrence Jones had another source of inspiration.
Jones’ eight-year-old Fil-American son Ajani was in attendance in the KaTropa’s 98-83 win over Magnolia Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum and he wanted nothing but for his father to take home the victory.
“I’m excited man, he’s been excited all day and he’s been up since 5 am so he’s tired now but you know he had a great time at practices, at the game, so I’m very happy he’s here,” said Jones.
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“He’s definitely my motivation and you know he wanted us to win so I got him that and I’m happy that he’s here.”
With his son in attendance, Jones put up an impressive line of 26 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, and five blocks as TNT ended the elimination round with a 10-1 record.
The KaTropa will face either Meralco or Alaska in the quarterfinals where they hold a twice-to-beat advantage.
Jones, however, isn’t looking too far ahead and would rather focus on what’s about to happen, and part of that is spending time with his son.
“He loves it here, man. You know he’s been eating food that’s from here and like it’s back home because his grandmother makes it so you know he’s just happy,” said Jones. “He’s happy to be here and just be in a different environment.”