‘We don’t consider them our sister team. They’re our competition.’
RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson and TNT Tropang Giga are tipped to have their hands full when they battle Meralco in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Games today:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — NLEX vs Blackwater
7:30 p.m. — TNT vs Meralco
Pulling off an opening day victory to set its title repeat bid in motion proved quite challenging for TNT Tropang Giga.
And it wasn’t even over a traditional powerhouse team.
This time, the shaky Tropang Giga test their mettle against one of the favorites to give them a run for their money when they take on Meralco in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
At stake in the 7:30 p.m. main showdown is a hold of the early solo lead in Group A.
TNT, which fought off NorthPort’s late uprising before booking a 101-95 win late Tuesday, will surely walk into a slugfest against its sister team parading three-time Best Import winner Allen Durham.
“We don’t consider them our sister team. They’re our competition. They are playing at a very high level, high confidence and they have a hell of an import in Durham,” Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes said of the reigning Philippine Cup champion.
Slowing down if not stopping Durham will be a main concern for TNT.
Durham announced his return after a five-year absence with a stellar performance in the Bolts’ 99-94 victory over Magnolia last Sunday.
“Let’s see what’s gonna happen on Thursday and that’s gonna be a real test for us,” Reyes added.
The Tropang Giga will again bank on prolific scorer Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who dropped 32 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and four blocks in the opener, with Calvin Oftana, starting guard Rey Nambatac and a healthy Poy Erram to back him up.
Meralco will be a tough nut to crack with the return of Durham, who despite saying not yet in his peak form registered 20 points and 16 rebounds in his initial outing.
“But I’ll get back to my form and we will get better and better as the conference goes on,” he said.
Chris Banchero, the first player to hit a four-pointer, is also a threat for Meralco along with Chris Newsome, a more confident Jolo Mendoza, Cliff Hodge and Bong Quinto.
Veteran center Raymond Almazan is expected to suit up after missing the opening game due to a sore back while Allein Maliksi will remain out for a couple of weeks due to a groin injury.
Meanwhile, NLEX begins its campaign at 5 p.m. against rebound-seeking Blackwater in Group B.
Jong Juico makes his debut as the new Road Warriors head coach after replacing Frankie Lim.
Reinforcement Myke Henry, Philippine Cup scoring leader Robert Bolick, Sean Anthony, Baser Amer and rookie Jonnel Policarpio lead NLEX’s charge.
The Bossing seek to bounce back from a 97-110 defeat at the hands of Rain or Shine two days ago in an outing that saw import Ricky Ledo come up with a forgettable performance of 12 points off 4-of-23 field goal shooting.
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