Terrence Jones is front and center in TNT’s Game 1 win. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – In a match where neither team was willing to budge, it was TNT’s side that showed more grit down the stretch to hammer out a 95-92 decision over Barangay Ginebra for a headstart in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series Friday night at Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
KaTropa import Terrence Jones put together a sensational performance on defense in the payoff frame to finish with 24 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks.
That performance enabled the rest of the starters to shoulder the brunt of scoring and help erase a six-point deficit in a nip-and-tuck affair that featured 22 lead changes and seven ties.
“Obviously defense got us the win. It really helped us especially at the end of the game,” said coach Bong Ravena, whose charges now enjoy a game’s worth of lead in their race-to-three match with the defending champions.
“We won the game with our defense, we’re gonna have to give that every game to give ourselves a chance,” added TNT consultant Mark Dickel.
Troy Rosario improved his conference-best just two nights ago and scored 24 points. Tony Semerad, Jayson Castro and Roger Pogoy all tossed twin digits in the stand.
Rosario made a layup to knot the score at 89 with roughly three minutes to play. He went on to knock down a couple of bonus shots before Jones took over on both ends of the court—pulling down a crucial rebound between two equally tough shots to keep Ginebra on the backseat.
Justin Brownlee had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists but was a nonfactor for the Gin Kings when it mattered. He was only able to contribute a point in that fourth quarter where TNT erected its comeback.
LA Tenorio and Stanley Pringle scored 18 each while Joe Devance added 11 for the Gin Kings who absorbed only their second loss since acquiring the Filipino-American guard from NorthPort in the league’s biggest trade thus far.
“Terrence is competitive. He wants to guard the best player all the time,” Dickel said of Jones’ clamping down of Brownlee late.
“That was gonna happen whether I ask him to do it or not.”
“This game will not matter if we don’t come back at it again in two days. So we have to prepare again. We can’t afford to relax because we all know Ginebra comes back,” Ravena said, referring to a feisty fightback by the crowd darlings this Sunday again at the Big Dome.
POST-GAME INTERVIEW