MANILA, Philippines — Ahead of TNT’s matchup with Converge, TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa issued a challenge to import Jalen Hudson: Shoot the basketball with better efficiency.
And Hudson responded big-time.
Knocking down 21 of his 31 attempts, Hudson delivered a 56-point scorcher to tow the Tropang Giga past the erstwhile unbeaten FiberXers, 128-122, for back-to-back wins in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With this result, the Tropang Giga caught up with the FiberXers at 4-1 at fourth spot.
“Thanks for responding,” Lastimosa said in greeting Hudson, whose 67.7-percent marksmanship was a huge improvement from his 40-percent clip in the first four outings, at the post-game presser.
“I know what he’s capable of doing. He’s as quick as anybody here and he’s athletic. If he gets by his main man, there’s no 7-footer to stop him so I told him to attack without being in a hurry,” Lastimosa explained later.
Hudson was on-target that he drilled in six of his 11 tries from beyond the arc. He shot 12 in the fourth period where TNT outplayed Converge, 35-28, to pull away.
Later, Jeremiah Gray drilled in three triples in a searing 13-3 closing barrage that lifted Barangay Ginebra to a 114-111 thriller over NLEX and its new import Wayne Selden Jr.
Gray’s long bombs highlighted his 19-point season-high output as he backed up Justin Brownlee’s 44-16-6 and keyed the Gin Kings’ second straight win. The Road Warriors, who drew 43 markers from the debuting Selden Jr., fell to 4-1.