MANILA, Philippines – In a battle of the champions, TNT, the winner of the Governors Cup, defeated Meralco, the winners of the Philippine Cup, 93-73 on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson took over the game in the third quarter and started a breakaway for the Tropang Giga.

After going scoreless for just six points in the first half, Hollis-Jefferson had an impact at the intermission, dishing out 14 points in a TNT offensive frenzy in the third, which propelled the team to a 2-0 victory and the top slot in Group A.

In a much awaited Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) game, the Meralco Bolts were defeated 1–1 by the TNT Tropang Giga. The game’s pivotal moment occurred during the third quarter when the Tropang Giga went on a devastating 31-16 scoring run, making it difficult for the Bolts to stay up.

With an outstanding 12 points in the first half, Chris Newsome had been a bright spot for the Bolts, but as the game went on, he was unable to sustain his momentum. In a similar vein, Allen Durham, who usually leads the Bolts in scoring, had an atypically bad game, scoring just eight points in the whole contest.

The Bolts were especially upset by this loss because it happened so soon after their season-opening triumph over the Magnolia Hotshots. With a hard-fought victory of 99-94 in that game, the Bolts had raised expectations for their performance against TNT and demonstrated their ability.

Conversely, Coach Chot Reyes and his TNT squad extended their winning run, improving upon their earlier triumph over NorthPort Batang Pier by 101 points. Their second straight victory of the season against the Bolts showcased the team’s cohesiveness and excellent form.

RHJ led the scoring with an amazing 25 points, making him the standout player for TNT. A number of additional players made noteworthy contributions that further enhanced the team’s triumph. Poy Erram and Calvin Oftana each contributed 15 and 14 points, while Rey Nambatac added 16 points to the total. Glenn Khobuntin scored ten points, putting him in double figures as well for the squad.

It’s important to remember, though, that TNT prevailed in spite of losing two important players. Because Kelly Williams and RR Pogoy were both injured, the team’s performance was all the more impressive.

This serves as a reminder of how erratic basketball can be and how crucial it is to keep up momentum over the course of the entire four quarters. In order to recover from this loss in their next games, the Bolts must start over from scratch.

In the second half of the game, Chris Newsome’s play for the Meralco Bolts drastically declined. Newsome failed to sustain his momentum after putting up a strong 12-point effort in the first half, adding just three points in the second half. His three-point shooting percentage dropped, as he only made two of his four attempts.

With 18 points to the team’s total, Chris Banchero emerged as the Bolts’ highest scorer. But overall, the team’s offensive production was poor, as just one other Meralco player scored more than ten points.

In the early going, the game was fiercely contested, with the Bolts matching Tropa’s vigor. During this time, Banchero and Newsome took over most of the offensive duties. Their efforts were initially rewarded, as the Bolts finished the first quarter with a slim lead of 23-21 and carried that lead into halftime with a 41-39 score.

But in the second half, the offensive capabilities of the Bolts considerably declined. Their opponents took advantage of this offensive dry spell to win the game since they were unable to keep up their scoring pace.