Glen Rice, Jr. was in the right place at the right time, as his put-back in the final seconds helped the TNT Katropa survive the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in a quarterfinal shootout, 118-114, Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Katropa will now advance to the 2017 Governor’s Cup Semifinals and will face defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a best-of-five clash.
“Hard-fought victory. We knew all along that going into the series facing Rain or Shine we will have a hard time,” said first-year TNT head coach Nash Racela. “It just so happened that today we came out the better team.
“The breaks of the game favored us in the end,” admitted the youthful mentor.
Rice, Jr. came out with yet another solid outing for the Katropa with 34 points on 50 percent shooting, to go with 16 rebounds and nine assists. Jayson Castro posted a double-double of his own with 20 points and 12 dimes.
With the game tied at 114 with 41.4 seconds left to play, Castro tried to take matters into his own hands. After failing to locate a teammate, he then pulled up from the top of the key, over the outstretched arms of J’nathan Bullock.
Castro’s triple hit nothing but air. But luckily for him and the Katropa, Rice, Jr. perfectly anticipated the airball, as he hauled it down from underneath and put it back in to send TNT to a 116-114 lead with ten seconds remaining.
The Elasto Painters tried one last time to tie the game once more. Bullock attacked TNT’s defense, and he decided to drop it to Beau Belga. Unfortunately, Belga did not expect the pass, and it led to a disappointing turnover.
Ryan Reyes’ charities off a duty foul with five-tenths of a second cemented the semis-clinching victory for the Katropa.
Troy Rosario provided 18 points for TNT. Roger Pogoy had 16 markers, while Kelly Williams continued his remarkable play with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Bullock top-billed for the E-Painters with 30 points. Belga finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Mark Borboran supplied 15 points. Maverick Ahanmisi had an all-around game with seven points, 12 caroms, and eight feeds.
Despite the loss, Rain or Shine shot well with 47 percent and rebounded better than the Katropa, 52-48. However, TNT had more assists, 26-23, and their defense forced the E-Painters to 15 turnovers, which they converted to 16 points.
The titanic Katropa-Gin Kings clash will commence on October 2, Monday, 7:00 PM still at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
TNT 118 – Rice Jr. 34, Castro 20, Rosario 18, Pogoy 16, Williams 10, Semerad 8, Reyes 5, Carey 4, Tautuaa 3, Nuyles 0.
Rain or Shine 114 – Bullock 30, Belga 18, Borboran 15, Norwood 14, Cruz 11, Tiu 10, Ahanmisi 7, Trollano 5, Almazan 4, Ponferada 0.
Quarterscores: 27-27, 59-59, 85-86, 118-114.
