TNT’s Ganuelas-Rosser atones for suspension with pivotal contribution in do-or-die vs Magnolia
MANILA, Philippines — TNT big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser served a one-game suspension during the Tropang 5G’s final elimination round game last Friday.
In that game, TNT lost to Magnolia and missed out on a twice-to-beat advantage, endangering their Grand Slam aspirations.
Facing the same opponents Wednesday evening, Ganuelas-Rosser made up for it and came up huge in the fourth quarter to help the Tropang 5G force a sudden-death against Magnolia, 89-88.
The 6-foot-6 center delivered 10 points and six rebounds — including clutch plays in the fourth quarter.
“It was really tough. I just got done sitting out for a whole year and now I gotta sit out again. But it’s a lesson learned. I let my emotions get the best of me that game so I just have to make sure I don’t do that again,” Ganuelas-Rosser explained, referring to the incident with Ginebra’s Troy Rosario that led to his suspension.
“When I’m on the court, I just want to help the team any way I can. I just have to be on the court, do my job and whatever the coaches need from me,” he added.
Ganuelas-Rosser’s presence was pretty much felt in TNT’s win, as he was able to contain Zavier Lucero. Lucero was limited to 14 points and four rebounds — a drop from his conference average of 18 points and eight rebounds per game.
“You just have to make things difficult for a player of that talent. Whatever you can do to make him earn his buckets and make him earn his possessions. You are not gonna stop a player like that or that team the whole fourth quarter. So just making him earn it, being smart in picking which possessions to be aggressive,” Ganuelas-Rosser said.
But aside from his defensive chops against Lucero, the 30-year-old also hit big shots down the stretch.
With TNT leading by just one, 78-77, Ganuelas-Rosser sank two free throws in the next possession. After Lucero’s jumper on the other end, he made a huge 3-pointer that gave the Tropang 5G an 83-79 advantage.
This sparked the winning team, as they led by seven points, 88-81, with two minutes to go after a Calvin Oftana layup.
But Magnolia climbed out of the hole and tied things up at 88.
And with TNT leading by one, 89-88, after a split from the line by Kelly Williams, Lucero had the chance to give the Hotshots the win, but Ganuelas-Rosser made a crucial decision to double-team Lucero in the final possession of the game, bothering the Hotshot’s attempt.
Although TNT’s defense was enough to extend the quarterfinals series, the big man reminded his teammates that they will need to play harder on Saturday if they hope to keep their Grand Slam bid alive.
“I know come Saturday, we're going to have to play even harder. [...] I know they’re going to make adjustments. He’s [Lucero] going to come in and try new things, new looks so we have to be ready.”
The do-or-die game two will tip off on Saturday, 5 p.m., at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila. — Ravi Tan, intern
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