TNT buckled down on the defensive end and had Rain or Shine without any field goal in the last two minutes to complete an 88-84 escape in Game 1 of their semifinals series in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 26.

The Tropang Giga had big games from Calvin Oftana and Jayson Castro but it was their defense that did it, pulling all the necessary stops to get the head start in the best-of-seven affair.

Save for a pair of free throws from Andrei Caracut at the 1:59 mark, the Elasto Painters were held scoreless in the waning minutes as TNT’s tough interior defense anchored on JP Erram and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson proved to be a tough nut to crack.

The Tropa even completed four consecutive stops to end the game – first, an Erram block on Caelan Thompson and then followed by back-to-back steals from RR Pogoy and Hollis-Jefferson to slam the door on the comeback efforts of the Elasto Painters.

Castro, on the other hand, took care of the offense, firing 13 of his 24 points in the second half when TNT, somehow, got into the driver's seat after trailing by as many as nine in the first two quarters

Oftana, fresh from his Gilas Pilipinas duties in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, immediately made his presence felt and kept TNT afloat through its first half struggles, pouring 12 of his 22 in the second frame.

Hollis-Jefferson struggled with his shooting after going 0-for-7 from deep but did just enough to still finish with 23 points to go with 13 rebounds, five assists and four blocks.

Deon Thompson put up a conference-high of 29 points laced with 16 rebounds while Adrian Nocum added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Elasto Painters.