TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. –MARLO CUETO/Inquirer.web
There was a way of accomplishment amongst a number of the TNT gamers as they went again to the locker room following a hard-fought Sport 5 win that put them nearer to the end line of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.
However coach Jojo Lastimosa doesn’t really feel any consolation, not when Wednesday evening’s 104-95 victory got here towards a gassed Barangay Ginebra that misplaced Justin Brownlee to meals poisoning mid-game.
Particularly for the reason that Gin Kings are a group that thrive on adversity. And TNT was in an analogous 3-2 lead earlier than ultimately shedding to San Miguel Beer on this season’s Philippine Cup Finals.
“I want I can flip the script (of the San Miguel sequence),” stated Lastimosa after the Tropang Giga reached the doorstep of a season-ending title. “But it surely’s simpler stated than achieved, particularly towards Ginebra, particularly towards [Ginebra coach Tim Cone], particularly towards Brownlee.”
And regardless of taking the sequence lead for the primary time, Lastimosa doubled down on his group being underdogs within the race-to-four affair.
“You need to perceive that coming in right here, we have now nothing to lose,” Lastimosa stated. “These guys are enjoying, and if we got the chance to seize it, we are going to.
“However they’re nonetheless the favorites. Even when we’re up 3-2, we’re not complacent. We all know how laborious it’s to win towards them,” he added.
TNT expects to see Brownlee again in Ginebra’s do-or-die state of affairs. He began nicely on Wednesday regardless of his predicament however hopes of a so-called “Flu Sport” to recollect, harking back to Michael Jordan’s memorable efficiency in an NBA Finals recreation regardless of affected by obvious meals poisoning, fizzled out when Brownlee couldn’t play within the second half of the match.
The outcome shocked a lot of the midweek crowd of 10,070, who had watched the Kings lead by as many as 14 early on.
And with Brownlee out, the opposite import on this sequence took his cue to shine.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson carried TNT again from that 14-point gap to start the third quarter and completed with 32 factors, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in one other efficiency that validated his standing because the convention’s Greatest Import.
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