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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider TNT survives RHJ ejection, holds on in OT to beat Converge

TNT survives RHJ ejection, holds on in OT to beat Converge

Published Nov 11, 2023 01:40 pm

At A Glance

  • The Tropang Giga played for almost the entirety of the second half and overtime period without Hollis-Jefferson but got a vintage performance from Jayson Castro and unlikely heroes from Jewel Ponferrada and Brian Heruela to pull through with the win.
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TNT survived the ejection Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and held on to a nail-biting 101-98 overtime win over Converge to barge into the win column in the 2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Saturday, Nov. 11.

PBA Images2.JPG
Jayson Castro showed his vintage form in Hollis-Jefferson absence (PBA Images)

The Tropang Giga played for almost the entirety of the second half and overtime period without Hollis-Jefferson but got a vintage performance from Jayson Castro and unlikely heroes from Jewel Ponferrada and Brian Heruela to pull through with the win.

Jayson Castro turned back the hands of time and put up 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists – none bigger than the pass that found Ponferrada with enough space for an undergoal stab to give TNT the three point cushion, 101-98 with 16.9 seconds left.

The FiberXers had the chance to send the game to a second overtime period but desperate attempts from Mac Tallo and Tom Vodanovich failed to find the bottom of the net.

Ponferrada provided quality minutes off the bench, finishing with 12 points including another hook shot off a Heruela assist that broke a 95-all deadlock in the extra period and gave the lead to TNT for good.

With Castro, getting a breather on the bench, Heruela also chipped in with a huge layup in the next possession to keep Converge at bay.

Calvin Oftana added 19 points before fouling out late in regulation.

Hollis-Jefferson, whose PBA return ended prematurely, chipped in 14 points and 11 rebounds before hitting the showers with 42 seconds into the second half. 

The last conference’s Best Import was hit by a flagrant foul penalty two after he appeared to have thrown the ball to the head of Converge guard Mike Nieto after a made dunk.

His ejection nearly cost TNT the game, as after leading by as many as 18 points in the first half, it found itself in a nip-and-tuck affair against Converge in the waning minutes.

TNT was still ahead 93-87 but an 8-2 spurt  behind Jerrick Balanza and Vodanovic to close out the regulation forced the overtime, 95-all.

Vodanovic paced his team with 25 points while Balanza had 18 in a losing effort for the now 0-2 FiberXers.

Related Tags

Jayson Castro Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
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