TNT secured a trip to the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup quarterfinals following a 98-93 escape of Magnolia, Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Kelly Williams finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Jayson Castro made 18 points, four rebounds, and seven assists.
Both vets led the bounce-back from that shock 103-107 loss to Converge last Wednesday.
“I think the most important thing in this game was the fight and the effort of the players coming off a very painful loss the last time out, to still come in with a lot of courage to play a very strong team in Magnolia,” said coach Chot Reyes.
Williams scored all of his points within the first three quarters, including eight in the third canto alone that saw the Tropang Giga lead by as much as 18.
Castro would make his presence felt strongly in the closing moments, scoring six of the team’s last nine points of the game. That helped repel the Hotshots’ comeback attempt spearheaded by Aris Dionisio and Mark Barroca.
“Today was really a do-or-die e. I think if we lost today we would have to beat somebody in a knockout and then try to beat San Miguel twice just to move forward. This was really a do-or-die for us,” Reyes said.
TNT finished the elimination round with a 6-5 card and clinched the no. 4 seed. They have earned a best-of-3 showdown with fifth-seed Rain or Shine.
“The last time we played them, we barely beat them, we just escaped by the skin of our teeth. Very strong team. Coach Yeng [Guiao] has them playing at a very high level,” said Reyes of the Elasto Painters.
Coming through big in the win as well were Brian Heruela (13 points), Calvin Oftana (12 points), and the grizzled Jewel Ponferrada (10 points).
Barroca, on the other hand, led Magnolia with a game-high 22 points in the rally that fell short. Ian Sangalang had 21 points while Dionisio added 14.
The Scores:
TNT 98 -Williams 19, Castro 18, Heruela 13, Oftana 12, Ponferrada 10, Pogoy 7, Khobuntin 7, Ganuelas-Rosser B. 4, Montalbo 4, Aurin 2, Galinato 2, Varilla 0.
Magnolia 93 – Barroca 22, Sangalang 21, Dionisio 14, Dela Rosa 9, Abueva 7, Jalalon 6, Balanza 5, Lee 3, Laput 2, Reavis 2, Tratter 2, Eriobu 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarterscores: 16-14, 47-36, 80-65, 98-93.
