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| Joshua Smith hammered it down over Japeth Aguilar to highlight a dominating performance as TNT tripped Ginebra in Game 1. |
By: Patrick Sutare
PASAY – TNT made use of its apparent edge over Ginebra at
the maximum advantage as it fend off the latter on Sunday night, 100-94, at the
Mall of Asia Arena to seize Game One of their best-of-five Semifinal series in
the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Joshua Smith’s size and heft made him a match-up nightmare
for the Gin Kings as he had a feast while anchoring the shaded area that fuelled
the Ka-Tropa’s offensive assault.
The sturdy big man posted 35 points and 13 rebounds while
facing a rather little opposition from the hapless Ginebra bigs especially in
the second half.
Smith’s vital presence on TNT’s attack was proven when
Ginebra mounted their patented come back prowess late in the payoff period.
As TNT coach Nash Racela decided to give his import a
breather, the Gin Kings channelled their ‘’Never Say Die’’ spirit once again to
pull to within two with less than three minutes left in the game, 92-90.
The bid, however, fell short for the Barangay as they were
held off as soon as Smith was fielded back in.
Jayson Castro had his worst shooting night for years to say
the least, but he made sure that his first and only field goal of the game would
matter the most.
Staring at a one-possession lead, 97-94, Castro was
unaltered by his shooting woes as he launched and drilled a back-breaking
triple with 12.7 seconds to go to ice the game for TNT.
Roger Pogoy, meanwhile, was the unsung hero for the Ka-Tropa
as he tallied 17 points to back up the scoring for his team. Ranidel de Ocampo
had 12.
Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 24 points and 14 boards but
was obviously exposed inside being the undersized import that he is. LA Tenorio
and Japeth Aguilar had 15 each as Ginebra goes back to the drawing board and shoot
to solve the hurdle that is the size of TNT’s Smith.
Game 2 is on Tuesday still at the MOA Arena.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @patricksutare
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