Anthony Semerad nailed four triples down the stretch, which were enough to burn down the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as the TNT Katropa took a 107-103 win and gained a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinals series at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
TNT found it hard to emulate their blazing Game One performance, as the Gin Kings found ways to slow them down and make the bout a tight affair.
But the Katropa also fashioned their own counter-attack, and it was new acquisition Anthony Semerad who dealt the biggest of blows.
“Tony hit some big shots today,” lauded TNT head coach Nash Racela of the former San Beda Red Lion, who scored all of his 14 points in the final frame. “Those are the things that will help us in the playoffs.”
The Katropa were down by five, 98-93, with less than six minutes remaining in the payoff period, but Semerad heated up on offense and launched three straight triples to lift TNT, 102-100, with 3:55 on the clock.
LA Tenorio replied with a trey of his own to put the Barangay up again, 103-102, with 1:12 to go. But the 26-year-old was just too hot to handle. He struck the dagger triple from the right corner, 105-103, with less than a minute left to play.
Joshua Smith then applied the game’s finishing touches, as he grabbed a miss and put it back in to widen the Katropa’s cushion, 107-103 — enough to move his side just a win away from the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
“It’s a surprise because it’s Ginebra. You don’t get this kind of advantage against them,” said Racela of their series advantage over Ginebra, who suffered their first-ever back-to-back defeats since tapping Justin Brownlee.
Smith, who dominated with 35 markers and 13 caroms last game, still served as the anchor of TNT’s balanced attack with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Roger Pogoy made 14 points, with nine coming in the third canto.
Jayson Castro had a better game than last Sunday, as he finished with 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting and eight dimes. Forward Kelly Williams also scored 12.
Brownlee and Tenorio paced the Barangay with 22 points apiece, with the 6-foot-5 import adding 12 rebounds, three dimes, two steals, and two blocks in his personal line. Japeth Aguilar chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds.
Both teams had the same number of rebounds at 49, but the Gin Kings committed more turnovers with 15. The Katropa converted those errors to 18 points as a result. TNT’s bench also outplayed their counterparts, 51-22.
The Katropa will look to close the series on Thursday, June 15, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
TNT (107) – Smith 16, Semerad 14, Pogoy 14, Castro 12, Williams 12, Garcia 8, Rosales 8, De Ocampo 7, Reyes 6, Rosario 6, Tautuaa 4, Carey 0.
Ginebra (103) – Brownlee 22, Tenorio 22, Aguilar 17, Devance 14, Thompson 13, Mercado 7, Caguioa 2, Mariano 2, Ferrer 2, Marcelo 2, Helterbrand 0, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 22-26, 56-59, 84-85, 107-103.
