In the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup group stage, TNT defeated NorthPort 99-79 on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

With an official 8-2 win-loss record to secure the top spot in Group A, the Tropang Giga will take on the No. 4 rated team in Group B, which may be either NLEX or Blackwater.

Both teams had an all-Filipino lineup, and TNT chose to keep Rondae Hollis-Jefferson out of the game in order for her to heal from a minor injury. Due to an Achilles injury, Venky Jois is already out for NorthPort’s second game.

However, the Tropang Giga managed to reaffirm their dominance with a team composed entirely of local players as they recovered from a crushing 84-72 loss to Terrafirma on Thursday to hand the Batang Pier their seventh loss in ten games.

“I thought we saw some positives today to be able to score better even without Rondae. Our offensive efficiency has to pick up in the playoffs,” stated Chot Reyes, coach of TNT.

Poy Erram finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Rey Nambatac added 15 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.

After spraining his MCL, Henry Galinato made his conference debut with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Roger Pogoy scored 14 points.

After being taken to the hospital for emergency treatment for a cut on his lip sustained in a collision with Arvin Tolentino, Calvin Oftana only played for seven minutes.

As NorthPort’s conference came to an end, Tolentino finished with 24 points and six rebounds, while Cade Flores finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Until TNT completed the third on a 19-9 surge and never looked back, NorthPort was still ahead, 50-46.

The Scores

TNT 99 – Erram 17, Nambatac 15, Pogoy 14, Galinato 11, Williams 9, Oftana 7, Castro 6, Khobuntin 5, Ebona 4, Vosotros 3, Payawal 3, Heruela 2, Varilla 2, Exciminiano 1.

Northport 79 – Tolentino 24, Flores 18, Onwubere 7, Jalalon 6, Yu 6, Navarro 5, Amores 4, Nelle 3, Cuntapay 2, Taha 2, Munzon 2, Tratter 0, Bulanadi 0.

Quarter scores: 19-25; 43-36; 65-60; 99-79.

On the other hand, Jones led the Road Warriors to victory and the No. 4 spot in the Group B quarterfinals with his heroics.

In the last three minutes of overtime, Ginebra was deprived of Justin Brownlee’s services, which allowed NLEX to capitalize. Earlier in regulation, Brownlee rallied the Kings from a seven-point deficit to force overtime.

With Brownlee out, Jones took over and drained a three-pointer with 2:17 left in overtime for a 101-96 lead that NLEX was able to protect until the final buzzer.

NLEX moved to 5-5, and will still take the fourth seed even with a Blackwater win over Rain or Shine on Monday.

The Road Warriors earned the win despite the Gin Kings’ late push, which was capped by a dunk by Brownlee with 32.3 seconds remaining. With two minutes remaining in regulation, they almost blew a seven-point fourth-quarter lead.

Jones made four of six four-pointers, one of which put NLEX up, 89-84. Jones then made a three to make up for his early-game foul trouble, giving the team a 92-85 lead.

“We just wanted to keep the game in striking distance. We had control of the regulation period but they (Ginebra) made big plays. We missed some shots. That’s just the way the game is. We played with DJ almost the whole first half without him but the guys stayed in the game,” NLEX coach Jong Uichico stated.

For the Road Warriors, Anthony Semerad added 12 points and six rebounds in addition to Robert Bolick’s 16 points and 11 assists.

The Gin Kings fell to 6-4 and will be the third seed in Group B. Japeth Aguilar scored 22 points and nine rebounds, while Justin Brownlee finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out due to cramping.

Before Jones’ game-winning three-pointer, Semerad had begun the overtime stanza with back-to-back threes, leading 98-94. 

In a game where it led by ten points, 31–21, despite Jones picking up three fouls, NLEX won back-to-back games to advance to the playoffs. However, Ginebra managed to keep it close in the second quarter, outsourcing its opponent 22–13.

The Scores

NLEX 103 – Jones 44, Bolick 16, Semerad 12, Valdez 8, Policarpio 6, Torres 6, Amer 4, Mocon 3, Rodger 2, Miranda 2.

Barangay Ginebra 99 – Brownlee 26, J. Aguilar 22, Ahanmisi 15, Abarrientos 14, Thompson 12, Holt 7, Pinto 3, Cu 0, Adamos 0, Tenorio 0, R. Aguilar 0.

Quarter scores: 26-21; 39-43; 71-68; 92-92; 103-99.