There was hardly any semblance of their fierce title bouts in the past as TNT outclassed San Miguel, 118-92, in their most impressive win yet in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Many anticipated another epic showdown between the long-time rivals to take place, but the Tropang 5G quickly dictated the pace early, jumping to a 35-16 lead after the first, which marked the beginning of a lopsided affair all night.
It was a rather disappointing outing, especially for the Beermen faithful, but the defending conference champions, of course, were all smiles, as they netted their second win in a row after stumbling in their debut against Rain or Shine.
(C) PBA Images
“It was just basically because the other team wasn’t complete. They’re missing a lot of players. and then now kami naman kumpleto,” said Coach Chot Reyes as they faced a San Miguel team that didn’t have Chris Ross and Jericho Cruz.
“Well, relatively, because we still don’t have Poy [Erram] and Kelly [Williams]. But at least now, we have Jayson [Castro] and Roger [Pogoy],” he added.
Bol Bol continued his solid play and led TNT once more with 34 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, alongside 18 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Calvin Oftana made 18 points, spiked by three triples, on top of three rebounds and three assists. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser supplied 13 points and two blocks, while Justin Chua chipped in 11 markers to lead the bench mob.
A total of 13 players scored at least two points in the win that saw the Tropa nail 10 threes, half of which they made in the opening period alone.
TNT will now look ahead to the Lenten break before taking on Meralco in an all-MVP affair on April 7, Tuesday, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
(C) PBA Images
San Miguel, on the other hand, was led by Marcus Lee with 30 points and 14 rebounds in easily his best performance in the league, although it could have been his last game with the powerhouse, given Justin Patton’s arrival.
June Mar Fajardo had 15 points and 20 rebounds while CJ Perez and Don Trollano chipped in 12 markers apiece in the loss, dropping to 1-2.
The Beermen will try to bounce back quickly as they will plunge back into action on Tuesday, March 31, versus the winless Macau (0-4) alao st NAS.
The Scores:
TNT 118 – Bol 34, Oftana 18, Ganuelas-Rosser 13, Chua 11, Nambatac 7, Galinato 7, Pogoy 5, Nava 5, Heading 4, Castro 4, Aurin 3, Hill 2, Nieto 2, Jalalon 0, Ferrer 0.
San Miguel 92 – Lee 30, Fajardo 15, Perez 12, Trollano 12, Miller 7, Tiongson 6, Lassiter 4, Tautuaa 2, Brondial 2, Rosales 0, Calma 0, Cahilig 0.
Quarterscores: 35-16, 57-32, 85-60, 118-92.
