Here’s How TNT Demolished Ginebra in Game 5
Less than two minutes into the 4th quarter of Game 5, Rey Nambatac rejected a Poy Erram screen and dished the ball to RR Pogoy. With his feet firmly behind the 27-foot arc, Pogoy let it fly.
Swish. With that, TNT was up 84-48.
That palindrome of a score—which happened to be the Tropang Giga’s biggest margin over Ginebra last night—punctuated the thorough demolition job delivered by the reigning Governors’ Cup champions. Try as Ginebra might, there was no stopping the onslaught that brought TNT to the cusp of another PBA title.
So how did TNT pull this off? Let’s take a closer look.
The Magic Bunot
Remember the recurring scene in the X-Men movies where Professor X and Magneto play a calm yet competitive game of chess? That’s exactly what good buddies Chot Reyes and Tim Cone have been doing all series long.
In Games 3 and 4, Cone whipped out a knight that moved unlike anyone else on the court: LA Tenorio. As a starter, the Lieutenant brought a calming presence and next-level IQ to a Ginebra team facing a 0-2 deficit. Tenorio’s veteran leadership helped the Barangay take both games and even the series.
Reyes, of course, would not be outdone. His counter: a bishop that sliced through Ginebra’s defense like it was 2008. In Game 5, Kelly Williams took JP Erram’s place in the starting lineup and reminded PBA fans that he was an MVP once upon a time. Moving with graceful athleticism that many 42-year-olds would envy, Williams finished with 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting, along with three rebounds.
More than padding TNT’s final margin, Machine Gun Kelly was impeccable with the timing of his offense, as he scored the first seven points of the Tropa in this game. Williams caught the Ginebra frontcourt by surprise and set the tone offensively for his team, leading to scoring outbursts from Pogoy (16 points, 3-for-4 from distance) and Calvin Oftana (15 points, 60% from the field).
“We’ve been together for a long time, Kelly and I,” said Reyes in the post-game press conference. “We’ve built that strong trust [in our] relationship. And I just told Kelly, I’m gonna trust you to come in.”
The Swing Stats
Nope, that’s not a typo. Sorry, I was thinking about some election.
As I review the numbers for this Finals series, two stats catch my eye. Why? The team that has won these categories has gone on to claim a W.
The first stat worth looking at is bench scoring. As I mentioned in my column last week, Tim Cone’s short rotation philosophy will come under heavy scrutiny in this series as both teams look to unload the most potent firepower in their arsenal. In the two victories claimed by the Barangay, the Ginebra bench was able to outgun the TNT reserves—23-16 in Game 3, 24-17 in Game 4.
But, in Game 5, it was the Tropa that got more contributions from their bench. Led by Jayson Castro (10 points, 7 assists) and JP Erram (7 points, 6 rebounds), the TNT bench had a 34-22 advantage over Ginebra’s shock troopers. Speaking of which: If RJ Abarrientos and Maverick Ahanmisi want to earn starting nods, they need to do better than a combined 3-for-17 shooting clip.
The other key stat is rebounding. In the first three games of this series, a difference of four or less boards helped to sway the tide in favor of the winning team. While Ginebra won the rebounding battle in Game 4—on the strength of eight boards by Ahanmisi, who can clearly contribute in many aspects of the game—TNT flipped the script and grabbed 10 more rebounds than the Barangay in Game 5.
Control of the boards means control of pace and scoring opportunities, which TNT fully capitalized on in their 36-point beatdown of Ginebra. It’ll be interesting to see how Justin Brownlee, Japeth Aguilar, and the rest of the Ginebra frontcourt respond in terms of rebounding effort in Game 6.
The Suffocating Defense
At this point, I can wax poetic about Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and his latest double-double effort (16 points, 10 rebounds). But I won’t.
Instead, let’s talk about Justin Brownlee and how he scored just eight points. Seriously, I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.
With a number of key Ginebra players out due to injury, the scoring load on Justin Noypi’s massive shoulders has gotten quite heavier. In Game 5, RHJ and Glenn Khobuntin made that burden Herculean as they kept a body on him at all times and made him uncomfortable, no matter which spot he tried to generate offense from. Of the 13 shots that Brownlee put up last night, 10 were misses—including all three of his outside attempts.
Though Scottie Thompson (13 points), LA Tenorio (13 points), and Stephen Holt (10 points) tried to keep Ginebra afloat, the team’s collective effort barely made it past 70 on the scoreboard. This was thanks to TNT’s formidable defense, which consisted of tremendous discipline on man-to-man coverage, along with timely switches and Brownlee double-teams.
Ginebra ended up with a miserable 32% shooting clip, including 24.1% from three-point distance. TNT’s interior defense limited them to 22 points in the paint (as opposed to the Tropa’s 40). When Ginebra did try to get their running game going, they got all of four points off fastbreak attempts.
“Kung gaano ka-diin ngayon [ang depensa], dodoblehin pa,” said Oftana as he looked ahead to Game 6. “Iyon ang maging way namin para makuha ‘yung championship.”
Will the Tropa be covered in a confetti shower tomorrow night? Or can the Barangay bounce back and force a Game 7?
Let’s tune in tomorrow and keep an eye on the swing stats, the defensive identity, and the magic bunots. That would be fun to watch on a Friday.