One man definitely looked frustrated.
Jojo Lastimosa knows all about physicality. In fact, he played in an era when being physical was basically the norm.
But, in a game that saw TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson look agitated more than once, Lastimosa might have seen something that ruffled his feathers just a little bit—even after the Tropang Giga escaped the Converge FiberXers, 101-98, on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
Not known to mince words in any interview, Lastimosa was asked in the postgame presser about the FiberXers’ physicality on RHJ, who got thrown out at around the nine-minute mark of the third quarter for seemingly tapping the ball to the head of Mike Nieto.
“No comment,” was Lastimosa’s curt, two-word answer.
Jolas’ take on RHJ’s ejection, might have revealed what was really on his mind as far as the physicality was concerned—especially against the amiable TNT import, who was among the Tropang Giga’s walking wounded when the season tipped off on November 5.
“He’s been frustrated the whole time, he’s getting pushed around. And then when he made a basket, I felt there was a foul. I think he wanted to grab the ball, gusto niya kunin ‘yung bola and then parang nawala lang sa kamay niya…,” Lastimosa explained, while gesturing what he thought RHJ was actually trying to do.
Indeed, Hollis-Jefferson did look exasperated at times as he kept getting hit and bumped and slapped by that hawking, in-your-face Converge defense. And things just came to a heed on that fateful play early in the third canto.
Luckily for TNT, old reliable Jayson Castro picked up the slack. The Blur, slowed down by age and injury, finished with 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists in a vintage performance that helped the Tropang Giga level their record to 1-1—and maybe appease Lastimosa in the process.
TNT will next take on the Terrafirma Dyip on November 22—more than enough time for RHJ and Lastimosa to cool their heads. Converge, meanwhile, will jump right back to action on Friday when they face Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.