Chris McCullough fired 42 points to help TNT move on the cusp of another Finals trip in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup following a 103-95 win over Meralco in Game 5 of the semis, Friday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
After getting his feet wet with his new team some 48 hours ago, the returning import produced 17 of his output in the deciding chapter alone, as he led the late breakaway after the Bolts tied things up at 83-all with 8:25 remaining.
He scored eight straight, capped by back-to-back triples, to power the decisive 11-2 run for the 94-85 lead with 5:22 to go that put them ahead for good.
The 31-year-old even scored the next four points before Jordan Heading nailed a triple and sank a layup off a drive to push their lead to 103-93 with 1:32 to go, all but sealing the deal to eventually snare the 3-2 lead in the race-to-four series.
(C) PBA Images
“I just needed to get my legs under me,” said McCullough, who shot 57.1 percent from the floor and also had 11 rebounds. “I had two weeks off from playing basketball, so I’m just happy to be back, happy to be playing.
“Job’s not finished,” he quickly added, with his sights set immediately on the potential closeout in Game 6 this Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Heading backed him up with 22 points and six assists, with Roger Pogoy making 16 points as the star winger kept themselves in contention in the third quarter before the lefty guard and ‘C-Mac’ joined hands to finish it off.
Calvin Oftana chipped in 12 points, two rebounds, and five assists as the local core has seemingly figured out how to play with their new import.
“The last game, he just had two practices with us, eh. Now he’s had the benefit of a game and an extra practice,” said head coach Chot Reyes.
“Number one, he gets acclimatized to his teammates and what we want to do. And also, just getting back to the swing of things here in the PBA. You know this is a tough league,” the veteran bench tactician added.
(C) PBA Images
Patrick Gardner, on the other hand, led Meralco with 25 points, albeit on 18 shots and 12 rebounds, plus two steals and two blocks in the loss.
He had another foul-plagued outing with five but was responsible for pulling his team back into the match, scoring five straight to tie it up at 83-all with 7:51 to go. But that proved to be their last stand, as Heading and McCullough took over.
Cliff Hodge and Chris Banchero made 12 points each and combined for 16 rebounds. Aaron Black had 11 points while Chris Newsome and Javee Mocon chipped in 10 markers apiece, but their balanced attack wasn’t enough.
The Scores:
TNT 103 – McCullough 42, Heading 22, Pogoy 16, Oftana 12, Castro 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Aurin 2, Galinato 0, Nambatac 0, Williams 0, Ferrer 0, Khobuntin 0.
Meralco 95 – Gardner 25, Banchero 12, Hodge 12, Black 11, Mocon 10, Newsome 10, Quinto 4, Cansino 4, Rios 3, Brickman 2, Bates 2, Almazan 0.
Quarterscores: 22-19; 41-42; 76-72; 103-95.
