MANILA, Philippines – TNT dragged Barangay Ginebra to a do-or-die Game 7 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals after pulling off an 87-83 win at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, March 26.
Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson showed the way for the Tropang Giga, pouring 29 points with 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals as TNT tied the best-of-seven series at 3-3 after dropping the last two games.
Rey Nambatac also shone in the gutsy victory with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals, while Poy Erram delivered as well by tallying 14 points and 6 rebounds, with most of his clutch plays coming in the fourth quarter.
Justin Brownlee led the Gin Kings with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks, although he coughed up a game-high 7 turnovers.
Fourth quarter
- FINAL: TNT forces a Game 7 after hacking out an 87-83 win
- TNT 87-83: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 2/2 at the line
- TNT 85-83: Scottie Thompson banks in the three-pointer with 10.5 ticks to play
- TNT 85-80: Poy Erram coolly sinks his free throws
- TNT 83-80: Justin Brownlee 1/2 at the stripe
- TNT 83-79: Poy Erram splits his foul shots with 21 seconds left
- TNT 82-79: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 2/2 at the line with 45 seconds remaining
- TNT 80-79: Justin Brownlee again with a minute left
- TNT 80-77: Justin Brownlee hits the contested jumper
- TNT 80-75: Rey Nambatac with the leaner
- TNT 78-75: Troy Rosario tip in
- TNT 78-73: Justin Brownlee for three
- TNT 78-70: There is no stopping Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in that possession
- TNT 76-70: Scottie Thompson with another layup
- TNT 76-68: Justin Brownlee over Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
- TNT 76-66: Poy Erram putback
- TNT 74-66: Stephen Holt answers
- TNT 74-64: Rey Nambatac floats it in
- TNT 72-64: Scottie Thompson skies for the layup
- TNT 72-62: Poy Erram reverse layup
- TNT 70-62: Poy Erram sinks the corner three
- TNT 67-62: Glenn Khobuntin 2/2 at the stripe
- TNT 65-62: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson slams it home
Third quarter
- END OF 3Q: Rey Nambatac continues to wax hot as he drains a four-point shot to end the third quarter, giving TNT a slim 63-62 lead.
- TNT 63-62: Rey Nambatac four-pointer
- GINEBRA 62-59: Stephen Holt corner triple
- 59-59: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 2/2 at the stripe
- GINEBRA 59-57: Back-to-back buckets for Jamie Malonzo
- 57-57: Jamie Malonzo attacks strong
- TNT 57-55: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scores
- 55-55: Justin Brownlee finally hits one after missing three straight free throws
- TNT 55-54: RJ Abarrientos cans the contested three-pointer
- TNT 55-51: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson cleans up his own miss
- TNT 53-51: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson layup
- 51-51: Troy Rosario short stab
- TNT 51-49: Poy Erram makes his freebies
- 49-49: RJ Abarrientos buries the trey off a Justin Brownlee assist
- TNT 49-46: Troy Rosario 2/2 at the line
- TNT 49-44: Rey Nambatac fast break layup is good
- TNT 47-44: Poy Erram scores
- TNT 45-44: Justin Brownlee gets the tough layup to go
- TNT 45-42: Roger Pogoy three-pointer
- 42-42: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson completes the fast break
- GINEBRA 42-40: Rey Nambatac layup
Second quarter
- HALFTIME: Scottie Thompson beats the first-half buzzer with a three-pointer as Ginebra enters the break with a 42-38 lead.
- GINEBRA 42-38: Scottie Thompson long bomb
- GINEBRA 39-38: Rey Nambatac midrange jumper
- GINEBRA 39-36: Calvin Oftana counters with his own three-pointer
- GINEBRA 39-33: Maverick Ahanmisi trey
- GINEBRA 36-33: Scottie Thompson drains his foul shots
- GINEBRA 34-33: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson 1/2 at the stripe
- GINEBRA 34-32: Japeth Aguilar grabs the airball and converts the short stab
- 32-32: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson layup
- GINEBRA 32-30: Japeth Aguilar with the rim-rattling dunk
- 30-30: Rey Nambatac dials from long distance
- GINEBRA 30-27: Justin Brownlee hits a three as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gets hurt after saving the ball
- 27-27: Calvin Oftana knots the score
- GINEBRA 27-25: Japeth Aguilar splits his freebies
- GINEBRA 26-25: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and-one
- GINEBRA 26-22: Justin Brownlee with the jumper over Glenn Khobuntin
- GINEBRA 24-22: Jamie Malonzo sinks the long two
First quarter
- END OF 1Q: Ginebra and TNT figure in a 22-22 deadlock
- 22-22: Calvin Oftana knocks down his third trey
- GINEBRA 22-19: Stephen Holt drive
- GINEBRA 20-19: Glenn Khobuntin answers
- GINEBRA 20-17: RJ Abarrientos with 3 consecutive buckets
- GINEBRA 18-17: Justin Brownlee easy deuce
- TNT 17-16: RJ Abarrientos with 4 straight points
- TNT 17-14: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson gets the bounce
- TNT 15-14: RJ Abarrientos baseline jumper
- TNT 15-12: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson from long range
- 12-12: Stephen Holt layup
- TNT 12-10: Back-to-back triples for Calvin Oftana
- GINEBRA 10-9: Scottie Thompson feeds Japeth Aguilar for the alley-oop slam
- TNT 9-8: Calvin Oftana for three
- GINEBRA 8-6: Japeth Aguilar again
- 6-6: Stephen Holt 2/2 at the line
- TNT 6-4: Japeth Aguilar gets the tough layup to go
- TNT 6-2: Rey Nambatac back-to-back treys
- TNT 3-2: Rey Nambatac corner triple
- GINEBRA 2-0: Justin Brownlee opens the scoring
Starters
- GINEBRA: Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Stephen Holt, Troy Rosario
- TNT: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Calvin Oftana, Roger Pogoy, Poy Erram, Rey Nambatac
Preview
Can Barangay Ginebra finally end its two-year title drought?
Up 3-2 in its best-of-seven series against TNT, Ginebra goes for the kill in Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, March 26.
After both teams posted alternating victories in the first four games of the tightly contested series, the Gin Kings finally scored back-to-back wins following a 73-66 come-from-behind escape of the Tropang Giga in Game 5 last Sunday, March 23, to close in on the championship.
As expected, Justin Brownlee — who is still playing with a dislocated right thumb — led the way for the Gin Kings with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists on another efficient 9-of-15 shooting night.
Scottie Thompson also took charge for Ginebra, recording his own double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, to go with 5 assists and 2 steals.
With just one win away from the title, look for Brownlee and Thompson to leave it all on the floor for the Gin Kings anew as they hope to reclaim the Commissioner’s Cup crown they last won in the 2022-2023 season.
Also count on the likes of Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos to step up big for Ginebra as both players aim to capture their first PBA championship.
For TNT, expect a huge bounce-back effort from Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson after firing blanks once more in Game 5.
Hollis-Jefferson still managed to finish with a team-best 19 points — tied with Rey Nambatac — but shot another lowly 7-of-26 field goal clip.
Aside from Hollis-Jefferson, the Tropang Giga will also need more production from Calvin Oftana and Roger Pogoy after both stars were limited to just 8 points apiece in Game 5 by the Gin Kings’ stifling defense.
Game time is 7:30 pm. – Rappler.com