Laser-focused TNT shackles Ginebra to grab 2-0 PBA Finals lead

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The TNT Tropang Giga moved two wins away from capturing this year’s PBA Governor’s Cup championship title after asserting their dominance over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 96-84, in Game 2 of the Finals on October 30, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was a man on a mission after spearheading TNT’s consistent outing with a 37-point masterclass, derived from six drained three-pointers alongside 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Jefferson’s six made treys are his PBA playoff career-best so far. He took advantage of what the Ginebra defense dared him to do all-night long: shoot from rainbow country.

Not known to be an efficient three-point shooter, the Gin Kings made it known that they were willing to give space for Jefferson to take long shots from downtown. As a result, the hefty leftie assassin made them pay and cashed in several demoralizing triples that neutralized Ginebra head coach Tim Cone’s game plan.

The beginning of the game showed flashes of TNT’s defensive brilliance in Game 1 as they were able to maintain their pressure in limiting Ginebra’s three-point shooting.

Just like the opener, the Tropang Giga successfully halted the Gin Kings from making it rain from the distance, the sole reason why they were able to clinch another early double-digit lead in the first half.

However, Ginebra finally displayed their never-say-die mantra after retaking the lead in the third off a courageous comeback rally led by no other than Justin Brownlee.

From an eight-point disadvantage, the Gin Kings’ rejuvenated form steered them to a six-point lead, 57-51, and were looking stable in running their offensive set plays.

In just a blink of an eye, the Tropang Giga countered back with a 10-0 scoring run and snatched away the cushion that the Gin Kings briefly had.

With another missed opportunity to punch first, Ginebra lost steam and fell to TNT’s defensive performance in the fourth capped off by timely buckets from Jayson Castro, Calvin Oftana, and Glenn Khobuntin.

“That’s our game. We take what the opportunities are in front of us. If they play us a certain way, then we take the penetration and drive. If they cover that, we make sure that we take the next best open shot,” said TNT head coach Chot Reyes after the win.