WITH the PBA Commisisoner’s Cup best-of-seven title showdown back to square one after two games, TNT Tropang Giga and Barangay Ginebra go back to the drawing board and map out new strategies before the pivotal Game 3 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig on Wednesday.

Both TNT coach Chot Reyes and Ginebra mentor Tim Cone welcome the two-day breather before squaring off anew in what could be another tense, defense-oriented battle at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Odds are again about even in Game 3 following TNT’s 95-89 triumph in the series opener last Friday and Ginebra’s 71-70 escape in Game 2 last Sunday.

The winner of Wednesday’s Game 3 will not only take a crucial 2-1 lead,but will also gain a tremendous psychological advantage over the opposing team.

Last Sunday, Justin Brownlee finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds while Scottie Thompson added 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in the Kings’ morale-boosting bounce- back victory.
Japeth Aguilar also stepped up in a big way with eight markers.

Brownlee himself starred in the victory, driving hard for a layup to make it a 69-70 with 2:05 left and hitting two pressure- packed free throws off a foul by Roger Pogoy to turn it into a 71-70 lead with 46.6 seconds left.

It was the turn of Ginebra to flex its muscle on the defensive end.

First, Ginebra forced the Tropang Giga into a 24-second violation, smothering import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson with a double-team.

And with only 7.3 seconds left, Ginebra again forced Hollis-Jefferson into a desperation heave as time expired.

“Tonight, it was definitely our defense. Give a lot of credit to Stephen and Jamie (Malonzo).They did an incredible job. But also our team defense, I think it was really good. Trying to stay home on their shooters, not letting them get too many open shots, especially in transition,” said Brownlee.

Hollis-Jefferson finished with 25 points on 6-of-23 shooting from the field, 15 rebounds, two assists, a steal and two blocks for the Tropang Giga.

Rey Nambatac had 13 points, while Pogoy added 11 points.

Pogoy, who hit 5 of 10 from threes in Game 1, missed all five of his three-pointers in the first half.

After being stymied by the TNT’s lockdown defense in Game 1, the Kings used the same defensive intensity as they limited the Tropang Giga to only four points in the second period and to only 19 points in the first half.

So horrible was TNT’s 2-of-22 field goal shooting led to measly four points in the second period.

TNT’s four-point effort supplanted San Miguel Beer’s five points also in the second quarter in Game 7 of the 2019 Philippine Cup championship against Magnolia as the new all-time low in finals.

The Tropang Giga’s first-half score of 19 points also replaced the previous all-time low of 21 points of Shell in a 64-74 loss to eventual champion San Miguel in Game 6 of the 1999 PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.

The scores:

Ginebra (71) – Brownlee 35, Thompson 16, J.Aguilar 8, Holt 7, Rosario 2, Ahanmisi 2, Malonzo 0, Cu 0.
TNT (70) — Hollis-Jefferson 25, Nambatac 14, Pogoy 11, Erram 6, Oftana 5, Khobuntin 4, Williams 2, Razon 2, Aurin 1, Heruela 0.
Quarterscores: 21-15, 32-19, 54-45, 71-70.

Game Wednesday:
(Philsports Arena)
7:30 p.m. — TNT vs. Barangay Ginebra

The results:

Game 1 — TNT 95, Ginebra 89.
Game 2 — Ginebra 71, TNT 70.
(Best-of-seven series tied at 1-1)

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya