MIKEY WILLIAMS handed coach Jojo Lastimosa, import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the rest of TNT Tropang Giga their first-ever Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup title on Friday night before the the13,588 crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Williams was the man of the hour, the major torn on the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel side when he delivered the big shot to send TNT to a thrilling 97-93 victory over the Gin Kings in Game 6 of their best-of-seven championships series.
“It’s all by God and we are very thankful to him, everything comes from him. Thank you to all the fans who supported us all the way,” Williams, also the Finals Most Valuable Player, said. “It’s total hard work.”
Williams scattered 38 points, including the crucial trey that seized back the lead to TNT, 95-93, with still a minute and 15 seconds left. Despite missing his two free throws in the next plays, the Tropang Giga displayed solid defense stopping Justin Brownlee and Jamie Malonzo from scoring.
Hollis-Jefferson, the Best Import winner, calmly sank two free throws with three seconds left to stretch their lead to four after Ginebra’s miss shots and finally got the sweetest win as final buzzer sounded after Malonzo’s desperate heave from the mid-court.
“It’s a dream come true, we just stayed confident and kept our focus,” the 6-foot-5 Hollis-Jefferson said, who racked up 29 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in 48 minutes. “We really wanted to win and the willpower was awesome.”
It was still a tough night though for TNT as it lost an 84-77 lead when Ginebra grabbed a 93-92 cushion before Williams restored order on the Tropang Giga side as he nailed that big shot from the middle of the arc with 1:15 left.
Ginebra opened the game with a 23-12 lead in the first quarter but couldn’t sustain its advantage, as TNT relied on Williams and Hollis-Jefferson in the next three quarters.
Lastimosa, who claimed his first-ever PBA title as head coach and team manager, said he was surprised that they made it — winning the franchise’s ninth overall title at the expense of crowd-favorite Ginebra.
“It’s incredible and it’s really unbelievable that it’s happening,” Lastimosa said, who thanked all his players, the coaches, and the management for the incredible run since changing their import Jared Hudson after the first six games despite a 5-1 win-loss start.
Justin Brownlee, who suffered food poisoning in Game 5’s 106-94 loss, returned in Game 6 with 29 points and 12 rebounds, while reigning Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson added 20 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds, and Malonzo got 21 points.
Christian Standhardinger made 16 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists also for Ginebra, but they fell out short losing in the finals for the first time after seven tries with Brownlee around as import since 2016.