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| Rondae Hollis-Jefferson put up a solid scoring performance for TNT. PBA Images |
BIÑAN—TNT made sure another blowout loss to Hong Kong Eastern would not happen despite the return of Cameron Clark as it was the PLDT franchise's turn for a 109-93 bludgeoning in their PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinal on Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
A landing spot foul on Clark while trying to block RR Pogoy's three with 30.5 seconds left in the third quarter spelled doom for the Long Lions as the Tropang Giga, armed with the once-to-win advantage, gradually pulled away from there even as the import's return only did little to save the guest team's cause.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson put up 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 15 rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Rey Nambatac added 18 points on 5-for-9 field goals, four rebounds, and one assist for TNT, which will play the winner of the Converge-Rain Or Shine series in the semifinals.
Hayden Blankley put up 24 points, seven rebounds, and two assists for Eastern, which lost on back-to-back nights following their blowout loss to Taoyuan in the EASL on Wednesday.
PBA-wise, the Long Lions lost for the third straight time.
The Scores:
TNT 109 – Hollis-Jefferson 31, Nambatac 18, Castro 16, Oftana 12, Erram 15, Pogoy 6, Williams 6, Aurin 4, Khobuntin 1
EASTERN 93 – Blankley 24, Clark 16, Yang 14, Lam 11, Chan 9, Zhu 8, Guincahrd 5, Xu 4, Cao 2, Leung 0
QUARTERS: 27-24, 51-50, 80-73, 109-93
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