TNT sends Eastern packing, books semis slot

TNT sent guest team Hong Kong Eastern packing after its 109-93 victory in the PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals, Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

After trailing 91-84 with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth period, the twice-to-beat Tropang Giga made a 10-0 run, capped by back-to-back triples from Rey Nambatac and Calvin Oftana, to pull away late. Eastern could not find the answers from as TNT took control of the game until the final buzzer.

The Tropang Giga had a slim 51-50 lead against Eastern at the end of the first half.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 31 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Rey Nambatac and Jayson Castro had 18 and 16 points, respectively.

Hayden Blankley led Eastern with 24 points, while Cameron Clark and Glen Yang had 16 and 14 points, respectively.

With the win, TNT returns to the semifinals as they wait for the winner of the series between Converge and Rain or Shine.

Scores:

TNT 109 – Hollis-Jefferson 31, Nambatac 18, Castro 16, Oftana 12, Erram 15, Pogoy 6, Williams 6, Aurin 4, Khobuntin 1.

Eastern 93 – Blankley 24, Clark 16, Yang 14, Lam 11, Chan 9, Zhu 8, Guincahrd 5, Xu 4, Cao 2, Leung 0.

Quarters: 27-24, 51-50, 80-73, 109-93.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News