HOOPS

TNT whips Magnolia, takes 2-0 lead

DT · Oct 29, 2026, 4:42 AM

RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson drills in 39 points and 15 rebounds to lead TNT to a 91-73 win over Magnolia on Wednesday in their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal round series. — Photograph courtesy of PBA

Games tomorrow:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)

5:15 p.m. --- San Miguel Beer vs Ginebra

7:30 p.m. --- Converge vs Rain or Shine

Top seed Magnolia couldn’t do anything but look helpless as defending champion TNT walked away with another blowout quarterfinals victory.

The Tropang 5G’s defensive schemes continued to punish the Hotshots as the No. 4-ranked squad claimed Game 2 convincingly, 91-73, to move within a win away from securing a semifinals seat in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Ynares Center-Antipolo.

TNT used a decisive 10-2 run in the third quarter to pull away for good after Magnolia closed a 17-point gap to just two points.

“On our board, one word was on top and that was ‘Better’. So, we wanted to make sure that we come out with better effort, better defense, better concentration, better communication, better everything in Game 1,” Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes said.

TNT will try to complete a sweep of the best-of-five series in Game 3 on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The Tropang 5G held the Hotshots to a low 33.8 percent field goal shooting — a much better defensive effort after shackling Magnolia to just 37.8 percent shooting in their 92-70 win in the series opener.