TNT Katropa’s expertise in handling matters down the stretch was on show once more, as they completed a comeback from 12 points down in the payoff period and staved off a depleted Blackwater Elite, 92-89, Friday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The locals starred for TNT in the win, which improves their record to 2-1. Roger Pogoy made his presence felt with 24 points on an excellent 11-of-14 shooting along with four rebounds and three assists, while Castro chipped in 13 markers despite hitting just four of his 10 attempts.
On the other hand, the debuting import Donte Greene, TNT’s original choice before Lou Amundson, chipped in 22 points on a woeful 32 percent shooting clip and 13 rebounds in 37 minutes action.
“It’s really hard to know what to expect from our import, and you can even see it with our locals that they’re still adjusting with Donte,” admitted head coach Nash Racela with Greene. “We’re being patient with him since this is his first time playing in the Philippines.”
The Katropa battled back from a 12-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to tie things up at 83-all, after an 11-2 run ended by a Kelly Williams and-one with 4:23 to go. But a pair of charities from Mark Cruz and a lay-up by Greg Smith pulled Blackwater up once more, 87-83.
But that proved to be Blackwater’s last taste of the lead, though. As Castro sunk two straight lay-ups, followed by a Pogoy put-back off a Greene miss and a Larry Fonacier triple, TNT led by five, 92-87, with 1:15 on the clock.
The Elite still had a glimmer of hope after that. After Smith sank his foul shots, Castro committed an eight-second backcourt violation that helped Blackwater regain possession. But they failed to tie it up, as KG Cañaleta’s corner triple at the buzzer missed.
Kelly Williams had 11 points and eight boards, while Ranidel De Ocampo added 10 to round up TNT’s leaders.
Smith led Blackwater once again with 22 points, despite his dismal 6-of-14 shooting from the free throw line, and a game-high 31 rebounds. Ronjay Buenafe and Kyle Pascual each had 12 points on a combined 10-of-15 shooting in a losing effort, which sends them to 0-4.
Both squads played Friday night with depleted teams. Blackwater were without forward Mac Belo and Art dela Cruz, while TNT played sans Mo Tautuaa and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser.
Despite the loss, Blackwater out-rebounded TNT, 56-48, and they converted better on their 13 offensive rebounds as they made 13 points out of them. Their bench also stepped up, contributing 44 points to their total output.
TNT will battle NLEX next Friday, April 7, 4:15 PM, while Blackwater will face Globalport the next day, April 8, Saturday at 3:00 PM. Both matches will be played at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
TNT (92) – Pogoy 24, Greene 22, Castro 13, Williams 11, De Ocampo 10, Rosario 4, Fonacier 3, Rosales 3, Reyes 2, Carey 0, Golla 0.
Blackwater (89) – Smith 22, Buenafe 12, Pascual 12, Sumang 9, Cruz 7, Pinto 7, Canaleta 6, Cervantes 4, DiGregorio 4, Sena 4, Miranda 2, Gamalinda 0, Perez 0.
Quarterscores: 15-27, 39-41, 63-73, 92-89.
