A big performance from RHJ, more suffocating defense, and a gutsy decision from Chot Reyes during a crucial part of the game help propel TNT to a big lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.
The defending champions TNT Tropang Giga are halfway through a successful title defense after conquering Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 96-84, Wednesday night to snatch a commanding 2-0 lead in the Season 49 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.
The Tropang Giga go for an even more commanding 3-0 lead on Friday, but even now history is on their side: according to PBA statistician Fidel Mangonon III, 85% of teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-seven PBA finals go on to win the championship.
Here’s what went down in Game 2:
Tireless RHJ takes charge
After a rather quiet 19 points in Game 1, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson left his fingerprints all over this game. RHJ finished with a game-high 37 points, including six triples, to go with 13 rebounds and 7 assists in a no-relief, 48-minute performance. The former NBA first round pick has played the full minutes in seven of eight quarters so far in the finals, sitting out only three minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 1.
For Rondae, playing the whole game is something he has prepared for even before he came over to Manila.
“I was blessed and then it also comes with the work ethic, putting in that extra work, cardio, not being afraid to do cardio on your off seasons, running, not touching the basketball, some workouts,” he said. “I think that goes a long way. (TNT coach) Chot (Reyes) is big on being in shape, so I know I can’t come to the season catching my breath. So when I come here, I just got to be ready. He’ll tell you, I’ll be the first to be like, ‘I don’t want to come out.’
“So, and he supports it, so it just, it works.”
“Pag linalabas ko siya, sinisigawan ako eh,” Reyes said of his import.
Hollis-Jefferson’s six triples were a career-high in the PBA, and afterwards he revealed that the Asian Games gold medal match last year, where RHJ and Jordan lost to Gilas Pilipinas, prompted him to work on his stroke from the outside.
“It was basically a shift in the mindset because, I don’t know if you guys watched, but in the Asian Games, they forced me to shoot a lot of threes and they beat us for the gold medal game. And we talked about that and I kind of, I just shifted my mindset. I knew that was going to be the game plan.
“And they were willing to live with that the whole game. I guess they thought that it was a fluke or it wouldn’t happen, but I’m a professional player. I work on it every day and I believe in it. My teammates, coaches, they believe in it. They tell me to shoot, so….”
Once again, it’s the defense
In Game 1, TNT held Ginebra to a measly 2-for-21 shooting from beyond the arc. The Gin Kings did marginally better in Game 2, going 7-for-27, but managed to score four points less and shot just 35.6% from the field while also missing nine free throws. It’s a testament to TNT’s league-leading offense that Ginebra is averaging around 20 fewer points in the finals, with Justin Brownlee averaging only 21 points and shooting 15-of-38.
For Chot Reyes, it’s all about attention to detail on defense.
“I think a lot of it has to do with where our attention is,” he said. “And our attention really is on our defense. So that was our focus, just knowing what Ginebra wants to do and trying our best to stop them and make them work for it.
“You cannot stop Justin Brownlee. He’s such a great player, but at least make it difficult for him, make him work for it. Same with Scottie (Thompson), same with Japeth (Aguilar), Ronjay (Abarrientos). These are all very good (players). Stephen Holt, these are all very good players. So we know we cannot stop them, but at least find ways to make it difficult.
“So I think that’s just our mentality, not only in these finals, but all throughout the series, just to try our best and make it difficult for the other team. And like I said, the players are buying into it. They’re committed to it. But it starts with where our attention is.”
No timeout for Chot
During one stretch in second quarter, when Ginebra was on one of its patented runs and the pro-Ginebra crowd was getting worked up, RHJ looked over to Reyes to see if he was going to call a timeout. The coach didn’t, and the gutsy move paid off as the Tropang Giga managed to right the ship on their own.
“I always tell my players, if you dig a hole for yourselves, make sure you know how to dig yourselves out of that hole,” Reyes said in explaining his decision. “So I said, ‘You put yourselves in that hole, figure it out, solve the problem.’
“So when they were telling me they were going to call a timeout, I said, ‘No, go, play on, play on, play on.’ And they did play on. And we went on a counter run to go back up by one and they (Ginebra) ended up calling that timeout.
“So it’s just the things that we talk about and we do as a team. We like to do different things. So that was one of those things.”
For RHJ, the move reminded him of a similar incident involving two of the game’s all-time greats.
“It’s funny because I was just watching a Kobe (Bryant) interview, it was one of his last interviews. He was talking about how Phil Jackson, he sits back, allows his players to figure it out.
“When we got in the huddle, (Chot) said something similar. And I just I think that’s phenomenal. At the end of the day, we’re all adults. We’re grown.
“So understanding in some situations how to play basketball and the details of it and how to just be focused and just calm it down. We do a lot of breathing, a lot of meditation. And I think in those moments, it shows. It shows our character. It shows our beliefs. And he’s big on that.”
All Images from PBA Media Bureau.