ANTIPOLO — The locals shone anew with Jordan Heading coming through this time as TNT drew first blood versus Meralco in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals with a 94-89 escape at the Ynares Center here on Wednesday.
The lefty guard made 16 points off the bench, providing much-needed support to usual suspects Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana, especially in the final period, where the Tropang 5G built enough separation to come away with the win.
He scored six in a 9-2 run to push their narrow four-point lead to a 90-79 advantage entering the last three minutes of the best-of-7 opener–a lead which proved to be difficult for their sister team yet fierce rivals to overcome.
(C) PBA Images
Still, the Bolts fought and managed to get to within just three behind Bong Quinto. But Bol Bol was there to preserve his teammates’ efforts, scoring off a tough layup for the eventual scoreline with 46.3 seconds remaining.
A Marvin Jones miss from four with 4.6 seconds left enabled the reigning champions to pull off the W and gain the head start in the series.
“When we get that other scorer aside from Roger and Calvin, it really helps our offense, it really helps the flow of our game. And I think when we’re scoring well, it also energizes our defense,” offered head coach Chot Reyes.
Bol led TNT and all scorers with 37 points alongside 11 rebounds, together with eight assists and six blocks–both of which were conference-highs.
Pogoy continued his fine play by firing 21 points plus nine rebounds, while Oftana still added 14 despite being the target of the opposing defense.
Still, the star winger managed to be of help, especially in crunch time, as the other three points in the aforementioned run were courtesy of him.
“That’s when winning counts, right? That’s when you win ball games, at the end of the game, in the last two to three minutes,” Heading said.
“I think all five of us are making really big-time plays and just doing what we need to do, and go to Bol down the stretch, and he’s gonna deliver.”
(C) PBA Images
Jones, on the other hand, had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Bolts. Quinto backed him up with 17 points, including the four that cut the gap to 92-89 with less than a minute to go, only for Bol to shut the door.
CJ Cansino had 12 points while main man Chris Newsome added 11 markers for Meralco, which has lost its third game in the last four outings, counting their final elimination round assignment versus eventual QF foe Magnolia.
Game 2 is on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
TNT 94 – Bol 37, Pogoy 21, Heading 16, Oftana 14, Nambatac 3, Williams 2, Castro 1, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Quitevis 0, Aurin 0, Galinato 0, Khobuntin 0.
Meralco 89 – Jones 22, Quinto 17, Cansino 12, Newsome 11, Brickman 8, Hodge 8, Rios 5, Banchero 4, Bates 2, Black 0, Mocon 0.
Quarterscores: 28-21, 53-49, 69-69, 94-89.
