By ADRIAN STEWART CO
TNT Tropang Giga closed out their best-of-five semifinals series with sister team Meralco Bolts with a 107-92 Game 4 victory in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday night, March 31.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the way with double-double 42 points and 11 rebounds to go with three assists and two steals as the Tropang Giga wrapped up the semis series at 3-1.
Calvin Oftana added 21 markers, built on five three-point conversions, while Mikey Williams and Roger Pogoy contributed 17 and 16 markers, respectively, for the Tropang Giga.
The Tropang Giga will face defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings at the start of the best-of-seven championship series at the Big Dome on Easter Sunday, April 9.
Hollis-Jefferson opened the match with eight straight points followed by a trey by Williams for an 18-11 advantage. The Bolts answered with conversions from Kier John Quinto and Chris Newsome to tie the score at 22-all.
Both teams traded leads early in the second quarter before the Tropang Giga zoomed to a 35-28 lead on seven straight points by Oftana. The Bolts forced a deadlock at 49-all, but baskets by Hollis-Jefferson and Pogoy gave TNT a 53-49 halftime edge.
The Tropang Giga went on to build a 62-49 lead early in the third on baskets by Pogoy and Hollis-Jefferson. The Bolts tried to close the gap at 63-70, but TNT pulled away anew behind Hollis-Jefferson for an 83-75 lead.
The Bolts made its last push at 86-93 midway in the fourth quarter, but conversions by Hollis-Jefferson, Williams and Pogoy allowed the Tropang Giga to pull to a 15-point advantage.
KJ McDaniels finished with double-double 37 points and 12 rebounds, Aaron Black added 19 markers and eight boards, while Newsome and Chris Banchero had 11 points apiece for the Bolts.
TNT 107 — Hollis-Jefferson 42, Oftana 21, M. Williams 17, Pogoy 16, Castro 9, Erram 2, Chua 0, Varilla 0, Tungcab 0, Khobuntin 0, Montalbo 0.
MERALCO 92 — McDaniels 37, Black 19, Banchero 11, Newsome 11, Quinto 7, Almazan 4, Hodge 2, Maliksi 1, Caram 0, Jose 0.
Quarterscores: 22-22; 53-49; 83-75; 107-92./ASC, WDJ