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Olmin Leyba - The Philippine Star
March 15, 2025 | 12:00am
All eyes were on the matchup between imports Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of TNT and Justin Brownlee of Ginebra in last night’s Game 1 of the best-of-seven finals.
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MANILA, Philippines — TNT bombed away with eight triples in the first canto to seize the initiative. Then the Tropang Giga kept themselves at a safe distance from rival Barangay Ginebra with their efficient shooting and solid defending the rest of the way.
And with that, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the Tropang Giga came home with a 95-89 win and a 1-0 running start against the Gin Kings in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals last night at the MOA Arena.
Hollis-Jefferson was in his usual element, turning in a near triple-double of 34 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to go with one steal and one block to power TNT’s charge in the opener of the third chapter of their explosive rivalry.
While RHJ did his thing, his local teammates handled the business of knocking it down from the long-distance – the same weapon the Tropang Giga used in beating the Gin Kings for the gold in the season-opening Governors’ Cup.
Coach Chot Reyes’ crew drilled in 14 three-pointers with RR Pogoy as anchor with a 5-of-10 marksmanship from deep.
It was Pogoy who touched off the Tropang Giga’s first-quarter breakaway with his three consecutive treys igniting an 18-4 barrage that lifted them to a 29-18 tear.
Hollis-Jefferson punched in 18 in the second as TNT widened the gap to 17 before entering the halftime intermission up by 16.
Ginebra mounted a major uprising in the second half but RHJ and Co. calmly made counters en route to drawing first blood in front of 11,802 fans.
“We knew Ginebra will make a run (in the second half) so we reminded the players to stay calm and expect it. That team is too good, too strong, too deep for us to have that kind of lead all throughout,” said Reyes.
“When they made their run, we came back because the players got their composure and the rest was our defense,” he added.
Pogoy scored all his 15 from the three-point country while Calvin Oftana and Rey Nambatac chipped in 10 apiece in the victory.
Ginebra import Justin Brownlee produced 28-15 in a losing cause.
TNT will seek to make it two in a row in the best-of-seven series tomorrow also at the MOA Arena.
