TNT def Brgy. Ginebra, 116-104 [Finals Game 4 | PBA S47 Govs’ Cup | Apr. 16, 2023]
TNT set a PBA Finals record of 21 made treys in Game 4 and subdued Brgy. Ginebra, 116-104, Sunday night in the best-of-seven championship series of the Season 47 Governos’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
The Tropang Giga shot the lights out of the Big Dome before a stunned crowd of 16,203 and equalized the Finals duel at 2-games apiece going into pivotal Game 5 which is scheduled on Wednesday, April 19, 5:45pm at the same venue.
Kib Montalbo stepped up in the absence of chief gunner Roger Pogoy who sat out the match due to a fractured finger and contributed 16 points in 30 minutes of play. The 11th overall pick of the 2019 draft shot 6-of-13 from the field highlighted by 4-of-8 sniping from beyond the arc to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.
“I think what we did was we went back to what we did best. We knew that if Rondae is there as a screener and we have proper spacing and we have shooters at the corners, we know what we are going to get shots.” said TNT head coach Jojo Lastimosa during the post-game presser.
“The problem with our last game was ang sama ng spacing namin. Part of that is kung wala si Rondae is not a facilitator, hindi napupunta ‘yung bola sa mga shooters,” he added.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who was earlier crowned as the Best Import, paced the flagship team of the MVP group with an impressive stat line of 36 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. The former NBA player drained 13-of-21 shots including 3-of-6 from 3-point country in 46 minutes of action.
Jayson Castro added 17 points while Mikey Williams and Calvin Oftana scored 16 markers apiece.
Justin Brownlee led the charge for the defending champs with 28 points while Scottie Thompson finished with 22 points, 9 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block. Jamie Malonzo chipped in 17 points while the trio of Stanley Pringle, Von Pessumal and Best Player of the Conference Christian Standhardinger contributed 10 points each.
