PBA: TNT turns back Meralco to go 7-1

TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–TNT overcame a shaky start and then outplayed Meralco the rest of the way to hack out a 111-104 victory Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

The Tropang Giga got the goods from import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and spitfire guard Mikey Williams who annexed a fifth-straight victory at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

“These guys know how to grind it out. Before the game, I told them it was going to be a struggle coming from back-to-back games. Thankfully, the guys were ready,” said interim coach Jojo Lastimosa, whose crew improved to 7-1 and eased out front in the race.

Hollis-Jefferson played with a lot of spunk for a second-straight outing, turning in 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Williams, meanwhile, accounted for 25 points and five rebounds in the effort that dealt the Bolts their second-straight loss after losing to powerhouse San Miguel Beer.

Calvin Oftana chipped in 19 points while Jayson Castro 16 more for key contributions off the bench.

Meralco tried to stay in the game behind import KJ McDaniels’ 26 points and 15 rebounds that went with Aaron Black’s 21 and Chris Newsome’s 20.

Allein Maliksi and Chris Banchero both added 11 the TNT cushion proved too huge to overcome down the stretch, ultimately dooming the Bolts to a 3-3 record.

Up next for TNT is SMB is taking  on Barangay Ginebra as of press time.

Meralco, meanwhile, hopes to get out of a funk against another corporate sibling in NLEX.

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