A lack of import was not an issue for TNT, as the Katropa sent the Blackwater Elite to their sixth straight loss, 120-101, and to the brink of elimination in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Katropa, who have let go of Jeremy Tyler due to unimpressive outings in the four games he had played, improved to 4-1. TNT also gained a share of the lead with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-1) in the team standings.
“It’s nice that the locals were really up to the challenge,” said head coach Nash Racela. “Boss Ricky Vargas gave us a really good motivation, sabi niya even if the other team has a 6-10 import, all of us our imports today.
“And I think everybody was ready to contribute. It really helped us today,” added Racela.
Ryan Reyes led TNT’s balanced attack with 18 points. Troy Rosario pumped 17 points and 11 rebounds; Roger Pogoy had 15 points and seven boards; while Jayson Castro chipped in 14 points, five caroms, and four dimes.
The Katropa already had the Elite in their hands in the second quarter, but it was in the third that they went full throttle. A 12-0 run — ended by Jericho Cruz’ bucket — gave them a 73-59 lead with 5:53 on the clock.
The Texters then never looked back, and their cushion ballooned to as huge as 20, 102-82, after Rosario’s basket with less than eight minutes to go in the match.
Anthony Semerad fired 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting for TNT. Terrence Romeo produced 12 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Cruz filled up the stat sheet with 11 markers, five boards, five assists, and three steals.
Poy Erram paced the Elite with 16 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. Paul Zamar, now playing his second game, had 15 points; and Mike DiGregorio made 14 markers. Import Jarrid Famous only had 11 points and 12 boards.
Mac Belo contributed 11 points.
TNT will next face the Columbian Dyip on June 1, Friday, 4:30 PM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, while Blackwater will look to end their slump against the NLEX Road Warriors on May 30, Wednesday, 4:30 PM also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
TNT (120) – Reyes 18, Rosario 17, Pogoy 15, Castro 14, Semerad 14, Romeo 12, Cruz 11, Trollano 7, Taha 5, Carey 4, Nuyles 2, Garcia 1, Paredes 0, Saitanan 0, Golla 0.
Blackwater (101) – Erram 16, Zamar 15, Digregorio 14, Palma 12, Famous 11, Belo 11, Cortez 9, Maliksi 6, Sumang 5, Pinto 2, Jose 0, Sena 0.
Quarterscores: 25-20, 52-47, 87-72, 120-101
