By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The TNT Tropang Giga pulled off another scintillating come-from-behind victory against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 5 of the PBA Governor’s Cup, 104-95, to move on the cusp of clinching the championship title last April 19, 2023.
Down by as much as 15 points heading into the second half, the Tropang Giga showed heart and resiliency after a much-needed offensive snowball at the start of the third quarter that trimmed their deficit to just a deuce.
With Ginebra looking to blow the game wide open with their double-digit lead, TNT stole the pace at the start of the second half and banked on the prowess of their import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson that kicked off their successful comeback effort.
TNT silenced the Ginebra crowd after putting up 12-straight points in just a span of 1:30, while limiting the Gin Kings’ offense to just two points to officially climb their way back, 63-61, with nine minutes left in the third quarter.
That massive 12-2 run then sucked the life out of Ginebra that just went flat offensively while committing tons of defensive miscues in the whole second half.
Despite a scoring frenzy from Christian Standhardinger and Scottie Thompson, the Tropang Giga continued their onslaught and got timely treys from Mikey Williams to help maintain their lead in the whole final canto.
Jefferson then iced the game with a series of acrobatic layups on his way to a dominant Game 5 performance of 32 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
On the other hand, Ginebra was on the right track in the first half but soon as the news broke that their super import Justin Brownlee won’t be returning in the last two quarters due to food poisoning, TNT just stomped over them and capitalized on his absence.
Before officially being ruled out from the game, Brownlee was on his way to another terrific performance after already putting up 14 points on 6/11 shooting from the field in just 25 minutes of action.
Brownlee’s absence then saw Ginebra’s scoring drop from their usual quarter average and only managed to put up 34 markers in 24 minutes compared to TNT’s 55-point second half.
Ginebra will look to force a do-or-die Game 7 if they win their elimination game on April 21, 2023, to be held at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
