TNT takes on Gin Kings in semis opener
Credit to Author: JOSEF T. RAMOS, TMT| Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2019 16:19:12 +0000
TNT KaTropa battles long-time rival Barangay Ginebra San Miguel at 7 p.m. tonight in Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinals series in Season 44 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
TNT, after escaping Alaska in the quarters, must go through defending champion Gin Kings led by last year’s Best Import Justin Brownlee.
“We have to work harder and Ginebra is no joke, they have the crowd and Brownlee is on their side. It’s also the semifinals, it’s getting harder each game. Good thing, it’s a series, but we have to start strong. Winning first game is important to have a good momentum,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena.
Terrence Jones, a former member of the Houston Rockets and New Orleans Pelicans, finished with 37 points, 22 rebounds and nine assists in TNT’s 104-93 victory that earned the team a semifinal ticket.
After topping the elimination round with a twice-to-beat advantage, the KaTropa had a hard collision with the Aces. Alaska forced a rubber match with a 104-72 victory at the start of their quarterfinals series last Sunday.
“We have nothing to celebrate for and we just have to focus on the next game, play hard and be smart.”
This will be TNT’s first semifinals appearance since losing to Ginebra in the 2017 Governors’ Cup. That match was marked by the ejection of import Glen Rice Jr., for throwing the ball at former Gin Kings Kevin Ferrer.
Ginebra, on the other hand, is upbeat after sweeping Magnolia in the quarterfinals by winning Game 1 (85-79) and Game 2 (106-80) behind Brownlee, Japeth Aguilar and Stanley Pringle.
But the Gin Kings’ coach Tim Cone is not taking TNT lightly.
“There’s a reason TNT finished as the No. 1 seed — they are good plus they showed great resilience against Alaska, so we know we have an uphill climb against them,” said Cone.
“(Terrence) Jones is incredibly prolific, (Jayson) Castro is always a tough matchup for us, and (Roger) Pogoy torched us for 39 points last time out. When playing their game, they are almost unbeatable. We’ll have to find ways to make them uncomfortable.”
Brownlee is averaging 25 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists in two games during their quarterfinal series against the Hotshots.
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