DEFENDING champion TNT and NLEX aim for a series sweep against respective foes in Game 3 of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The Road Warriors clash with the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters at 5:15 p.m. followed by the 7:30 p.m. collision between the Tropang 5G and the Magnolia Hotshots.
After opening the series with a 97-92 win, NLEX took Game 2, 124-117, behind a strong fourth quarter performance by import Deonte Burton, who scored 10 of his 24 points in that stretch to tow his team to a 2-0 series lead.
A Game 3 win pushes NLEX to the semifinals for the first time since it last reached the Final Four in the 2021 Governors’ Cup when Yeng Guiao was still at the helm and Cameron Clark as its import.
That Road Warriors team did not have high-scoring guard Robert Bolick yet and Clark is playing for Converge this conference.
Meanwhile, the Tropang 5G will also look to build on their wins in the first two games by putting an emphatic end to the Hotshots’ own title bid.
Resident import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was superb in TNT’s lopsided 91-73 rout of Magnolia in Game 2 after finishing with 39 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks, while knocking down four of five from three-point distance.
The Hotshots have to find ways to contain the three-time PBA Best Import who is back with a vengeance after recovering from an injured Achilles heel in December 2025 while playing for Meralco in the EASL.
TNT coach Chot Reyes said the seemingly easy Game 2 win was brought about by his pre-game reminder on coming out with better effort.
“On our board one word was on top and that was ‘better.’ So, we wanted to make sure that we come out with a better effort, better defense, better concentration, better communication, better everything than in Game 1,” said Reyes.
“And while they scored more... we were able to hold them to a lower field goal percentage and in the end our offense struggled, none of our shooters can make shots, but our defense carried us through.”
The TNT coach’s pre-Game 2 pep talk worked wonders for the Tropang 5G who limited the Hotshots to a 25-of-74 field goal shooting in the game.
Magnolia import KJ Buffen, on the other hand, will need all the local support he can get, led by Zavier Lucero, Jerome Lastimosa, Mark Barroca, Ian Sangalang and Peter Alfaro, to forge Game 4.
