KJ McDaniels and TNT redeemed themselves in the most crucial of moments, escaping the clutches of Meralco, 101-97, in Game Three of their 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five semifinal series Thursday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The KaTropa were staring at a 96-97 deficit with 1:58 remaining until Castro sank a jumper before McDaniels scored on a tip-in to give the KaTropa the lead for good, 100-97, with 35.9 ticks left.
McDaniels, who struggled in the first half as he only shot 1-of-11 from the field, finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Castro bounced back from a bad Game Two with 17 points and 10 assists.
TNT has now taken a 2-1 series lead and has a chance to close it out in Game Four on Saturday to head to the Finals.
“Tough game for both teams. It was anybody’s ball game,” said Texters head coach Bong Ravena.
Troy Rosario top-scored for TNT with 25 points. Roger Pogoy regained his touch after firing blanks last game and had 15 points while Ray Parks added 12 as all starters finished in double figures.
“Plus the locals stepped up like Troy, Roger, Jayson, Ray. Hopefully same mindset [next game],” Ravena said.
TNT had actually fallen behind by 13, 29-42, early in the second quarter, but it turned on the jets in the third canto and exploded for 35 points to take a 77-71 lead heading into the final period.
The KaTropa even led by 11, 82-71, after a McDaniels three-point play with 11:09 remaining in the fourth.
The Bolts, though, fought back and tried to save themselves from collapsing, and they eventually regained the lead, 97-96, following a Chris Newsome three-pointer with 1:58 on the game clock.
But Castro and McDaniels happened. Allein Maliksi tried to tie the game but his trey missed, though the door was still open for Meralco when Pogoy missed his freebies with 22.5 ticks to go.
Meralco tried to set it up for a decent shot but Allen Durham turned the ball over with 11.3 seconds left after he passed it to Cliff Hodge, who’s benched and standing near the right corner.
The Orangemen had no choice but to foul afterward and Castro split his freebies to seal the victory.
Former two-time Best Import Durham paced the Bolts with 32 points, 19 rebounds, and seven assists.
Newsome provided 20 points while Baser Amer added 19 as they combined for 7-of-15 shooting from deep.
The Scores:
TNT 101 – Rosario 25, McDaniels 18, Castro 17, Pogoy 15, Parks 12, Reyes 9, De Leon 5, Digregorio 0, Williams 0, Vosotros 0.
Meralco 97 – Durham 32, Newsome 20, Amer 19, Quinto 8, Pinto 5, Caram 4, Almazan 4, Hodge 3, Maliksi 2, Faundo 0.
Quarterscores: 23-29, 42-51, 77-71, 101-97.
