TNT Tropang Giga moved a win away from copping the 47th PBA Governors’ Cup crown after they whipped the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, 104-95, in Game 5 of their best-of-seven title series on Wednesday night.
Grabbing a 3-2 lead, the Tropa became the first team to win two straight games in the series as the two squads alternated victories in the first four matches.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson finished with triple-double to lead the Tropa, tallying 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The big story, however, was the premature exit of Ginebra import Justin Brownlee.
Brownlee suffered a bad case of diarrhea and left late in the third period.
According to reports, Brownlee was vomiting hours before the game and had to be put on IV on his way to the crucial game.
Brownlee also threw up on the bench before he finally headed to the locker room for good.
Brownlee finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field.
Calvin Oftana, Mikey Williams, Glenn Khobuntin, Jayson Castro and Poy Erram all scored in twin digits to provide Hollis-Jefferson a much-needed support.
Oftana tallied 20 points, Williams added 15, while Khobuntin, Castro, and Erram contributed 10 each.
Christian Stanhardinger finished with a team-high 29 points for Ginebra, while Nards Pinto chipped in 18.
THE SCORES:
TNT (104) – Hollis-Jefferson 32, Oftana 20, M.Williams 15, Khobuntin 10, Castro 10, Erram 10, K.Williams 5, Montalbo 2, Marcelo 0.
GINEBRA (95) – Standhardinger 29, Pinto 18, Brownlee 14, Thompson 12, Gray 10, Malonzo 6, Pringle 6, J.Aguilar 0, Mariano 0.
QUARTERS: 28-26, 49-61, 81-79, 104-95.
Image courtesy of PBA Media Bureau
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