AN epic series deserves a final-game decider. And the TNT-Barangay Last Dance III is to finish that way.
True to their vow, the Tropang Giga fought like hell and quashed the Gin Kings' series close-out bid with an 87-83 victory that instead sent the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals to a winner-take-all setto on Friday.
Before 17,654 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his teammates came out locked-in on their goal and banked on their resolve in outfighting the Gin Kings in the crunch to forge a 3-3 deadlock in the race-to-four-games series.
The two teams slug it out one last time Friday also at the Big Dome to determine who will bring home the midseason hardware.
RHJ, Rey Nambatac and Poy Erram all played big roles, each one stepping up at winning time to keep alive the team's hopes for back-to-back titles in the season.
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Hollis-Jefferson was all heart and all guts, delivering game-highs of 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists as he lived up to being the Best Player of the Conference awardee.
He did everything at the finish, defending, hustling and most important of all making buckets, including the two charities that made it 87-83 with 6.2 ticks to go.
Nambatac emerged the second-best scorer with 23, including a buzzer-beating four-pointer to end the third, touching of what would be a crucial 13-0 run that would give them a 10-point lead before repelling a Ginebra fightback down the stretch.
Erram had his own big moments, curiously after his verbal spat with coach Chot Reyes last game. He scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth, going with his own hustle plays, nothing bigger than a ball tap that had them keeping possession following missed free throws by their import.
That sent RHJ back in the charity lane. And making both this time, RHJ pushed TNT up by four at 87-83.
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With 6.2 seconds to go, Scottie Thompson was able to throw a Hail Mary shot that just bounced off the board at the buzzer.
"We told the players this is our first do-or-die game with Rondae so this is a great opportunity for us to learn about ourselves," said TNT coach Chot Reyes, whose team previously held a 3-2 lead against Ginebra and went on to clinch the crown in six with the super import.
"I said let's just grab this opportunity, go out there, play hard and compete. That's what we wrote on the board - compete. If we lose, we lose. At least we're not going down without a fight. Credit to the guys for giving it their all," he added. (SB)
