TNT guns for a 3-2 series lead when it battles Barangay Ginebra in Game 5 of their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup finals on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang 5G’s confidence are at a high following Wednesday’s huge 106-98 win to level their series at 2-2 against the Gin Kings.
Jordan Heading starred in TNT’s momentum-shifting win as he teamed up with Chris McCullough, with the two combining for 43 points.
The left-handed Heading went 5-of-7 from downtown, making clutch baskets in the second half to turn the tables against the Gin Kings.
As they head to their 7:30 p.m. encounter, the Tropang 5G hope to build on the Game 4 win.
But TNT will have to come out with a resolute effort to defend, and hopefully limit Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos’ productions.
The 6-foot-4 Brownlee won his fourth Best Import award, while Abarrientos was named Best Player of the conference just prior to the Game 4 tipoff.
The former Far Eastern University standout averaged 22.0 points on 49.7 percent shooting from the field, along with 3.67 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.5 steals in the semis.
Meanwhile, the concurrent Gilas naturalized player, who is eyeing his seventh PBA title, averaged solid per-game stats line of 29.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.67 steals, and 1.3 blocks during the semis.
Both Ginebra vital cogs have been playing consistently throughout the conference, with the shifty Abarrientos assuming a bigger role this time under coach Tim Cone.
But Cone is demanding more from the bench, knowing that beating TNT will only be possible if Ginebra can come up with a collective effort.
“It was a night where we needed something from our bench and we couldn’t get anything from our bench tonight,” Cone said after the team’s Game 4 loss. “And that really hurt.”
“We wanted to try to come back here and do something special today and try to get to that 3-1 lead, which is really, really hard to do,” he added.
