TNT Katropa ended their five-game losing skid to sister team Meralco Bolts, taking a wire-to-wire 102-84 victory, in Game One of their best-of-three quarterfinal series in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup, Monday night at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Katropa’s last victory against the Bolts traces back from Game One of their best-of-five semifinal affair in the 2016 Governor’s Cup, where Meralco eventually became the season-ending conference’s runners-up to Ginebra.
“I think offensively, we were just blessed to have contributions from almost everybody today. That doesn’t normally happen but at least today it really helped us,” said TNT head coach Nash Racela on the win, where 10 players scored.
Jayson Castro displayed all-around brilliance for TNT with 25 points, 14 from the first half, on 50 percent shooting alongside seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. Joshua Smith chipped in 19 markers on 8-for-9 shooting, off the bench.
After being down by as much as 17 early in the game, the Bolts surged back in the second half and closed in by just a mere two points, 53-51, after a Chris Newsome free throw with 4:55 on the clock in the third canto.
The Katropa though regained their touch to make it Meralco’s last threat. They regained another double-digit advantage, and they eventually led by 24, 93-69, after a 12-2 spree powered by Castro’s seven markers with 5:07 left to play.
The team in blue never relinquished the favorable lead and coasted to the series-leading victory.
“Our focus is really on just doing the right things. Today I think we were successful in minimizing our mistakes,” added Racela. “At least today by minimizing mistakes, we were able to control the game.”
Mo Tautuaa chipped in a near-double-double of 13 points and eight caroms for the Katropa. Kelly Williams added 10 markers and seven boards.
Newsome paced the Bolts with 21 points on 13 shots. Baser Amer had 14, while Jared Dillinger had 12 markers. Alec Stephenson scored just nine in the loss, but was able to haul down a game-high 16 rebounds.
The Katropa shot 51 percent from the field, and hauled down 47 rebounds. TNT’s bench, as lauded by Racela, supplied 52 points to their total output.
Game Two will be played on Wednesday, June 7, 7:00 PM still at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
TNT (102) – Castro 25, Smith 19, Tautuaa 13, Rosario 9, Garcia 9, Reyes 6, Semerad 5, Pogoy 4, Nuyles 2, De Ocampo 0, Rosales 0, Golla 0, Carey 0.
Meralco (84) – Newsome 21, Amer 14, Dillinger 12, Hugnatan 11, Yeo 10, Stepheson 9, Caram 3, Hodge 2, Uyloan 2, Faundo 0, Nabong 0, Bono 0.
Quarterscores: 25-13, 42-27, 69-59, 102-84.
