TNT Tropang Giga expects a dogfight when it goes for a Finals seat against Meralco in Game 4 of their best-of-five semifinals series in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“For sure, it’s going to be a hard game, a dogfight, a battle and whoever comes out the winner, they will be bloodied,” TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa said.
Game 4 is set at 5:45 p.m.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson again played an all-around game in TNT’s huge 99-80 Game 3 victory with 40 points and 13 rebounds.
Mikey Williams was also outstanding on Wednesday night 29 points for TNT which won Game 1, 110-80, but lost Game 2, 124-117, in overtime.
Lastimosa reminded his players just how difficult it is to close out a series.
“For some reason, there’s just a different feel when you’re trying to close out [the series] because we know the other team is also desperate,” he said. “At the same time, we don’t want to force the issue. We will try to close it out and see how it goes.”
A victory by the Tropang Giga will pit them against early finalist and defending champion Barangay Ginebra San Miguel which swept San Miguel Beer in their own semifinals duel.
Meralco coach Norman Black said they’ll put up a gallant stand in Game 4.
“Hopefully, we can play better as a team,” said Black, who lamented that TNT’s 56-30 halftime lead in Game 3 was “too much to take.”
“They were able to establish their game immediately and their import [Hollis-Jefferson] pretty much dominated the first half,” he said.
KJ McDaniels led the Bolts in Game 3 with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Josef Ramos