MANILA, Philippines – TNT hardly missed a beat despite switching imports in the middle of its promising PBA Governors’ Cup campaign as it steamrolled Blackwater, 138-116, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, February 15.

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson proved as good as advertised with 37 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks in his PBA debut for the Tropang Giga, who picked up where they left off after a 5-1 start with Jalen Hudson.

The former NBA player connived with Roger Pogoy, who also breached the 30-point mark with 40 points to go with 9 rebounds, as TNT dominated the middle quarters en route to gaining solo lead in the standings.

TNT made a surprise move when it brought in Hollis-Jefferson considering Hudson played superbly throughout his six-game run, averaging 33.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.5 steals.

But the former Brooklyn Nets standout, who is coming off a stint with the Jeonju KCC Egis in the Korean Basketball League, delivered from start to finish.

Hollis-Jefferson and Pogoy already had 31 and 32 points, respectively, by the end of the third quarter as the Tropang Giga erupted for 80 points in the middle periods combined to mount a 111-87 lead going into the last salvo.

While Hollis-Jefferson flirted with a triple-double, Pogoy torched the nets for the second-highest scoring output of his career, just 5 points behind his 45-point explosion against Alaska in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup.

Pogoy shot a healthy 13-of-21 from the field (61%), with seven of those conversions coming from beyond the arc.

“He looks for us,” Pogoy said when asked about playing with Hollis-Jefferson. “He willingly passes the ball. He had a bunch of assists to me.”

Mikey Williams made his presence felt in the blowout with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, while Glenn Khobuntin contributed a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Calvin Oftana came off the bench for TNT with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Like Hollis-Jefferson, Troy Williams stuffed the stat sheet with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, but he remained winless in the PBA as the Bossing absorbed their fifth straight defeat and dropped to 1-6.

JVee Casio put up 21 points in the loss, RK Ilagan tallied 16 points, and Tyrus Hill added 15 points.

The Scores

TNT 138 – Pogoy 40, Hollis-Jefferson 37, M.Williams 14, Khobuntin 13, Oftana 11, K.Williams 7, Chua 6, Cruz 4, Montalbo 4, Acuno 2, Varilla 0, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.

Blackwater 116 – T.Williams 22, Casio 21, Ilagan 16, Hill 15, McCarthy 11, Taha 10, Sena 3, Amer 3, Ayonayon 3, Torralba 3, Banal 2, Ular 2, Escoto 2, Suerte 2, DiGregorio 1.

Quarters: 31-22, 68-50, 111-87, 138-116.

– Rappler.com