ANTIPOLO – Experience proved to be the difference as TNT came from behind to beat Rain or Shine, 108-107, for a victorious start to its PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup campaign, Wednesday night at the Ynares Center here.
Calvin Oftana delivered the toughest of blows, scoring the last five of a crucial 9-0 run to take the 108-104 lead with 45.2 seconds left as the Tropang Giga went on to complete the comeback after being down by as many as 10 in the third.
Oftana finished with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds in the victory that also served as a fitting present to returning head coach Chot Reyes.
“A few were asking me how it feels to be back. My reply was, I was never away,” said the champion bench tactician. “I’ve always been with the team, whether it is in practice or in games. So it was not like I was really ever away.”
Roger Pogoy fired 22 points on a 4-of-5 clip from deep, scoring 12 of his output in the game’s first five minutes. Rookie guard Kim Aurin registered a season-high 21 points off the bench, including 13 in the first half.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had an impressive debut with his new ball club, delivering 15 points and 14 rebounds. Jayson Castro added 14.
BGR and Castro teamed up in building the aforementioned 9-0 attack before Oftana came through to finish the said run that put them up for good.
Adrian Nocum and Santi Santillan, meanwhile, had 20 points apiece for the Elasto Painters, although the former could’ve had more to his tally had he not suffered leg cramps with 2:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Nocum was helping RoS come up with timely counters to the opposition’s blows until he went down hurt. He was never able to check back in.
Santillan did try to keep the Tropa at bay in the rookie’s absence and even pushed their lead to five, 104-99, with 3:40 left, until their foes rallied.
It proved to be the end for the charges of Coach Yeng Guiao, with Andrei Caracut uncharacteristically splitting his foul shots and Jhonard Clarito misreading the situation, only scoring on a lay-up with 2.3 seconds left.
Caracut finished with 15 points. Shaun Ildefonso contributed 11 points, while Beau Belga chipped in 10 markers in the stinging defeat.
Both teams will see action again on Saturday, March 2, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. TNT takes on Blackwater in the double-header opener at 3 p.m., while Rain or Shine battles Meralco at 6:15 in the evening.
The Scores:
TNT 108 – Oftana 23, Pogoy 22, Aurin 21, Ganuelas-Rosser B. 15, Castro 14, Galinato 4, Khobuntin 4, Ganuelas-Rosser M. 3, Montalbo 2, Williams 0, Ebona 0, Reyes 0, Heruela 0, Ponferrada 0.
Rain or Shine 107 – Nocum 20, Santillan 20, Caracut 15, Ildefonso 11, Belga 10, Datu 8, Demusis 6, Clarito 6, Mamuyac 5, Borboran 4, Norwood 2, Concepcion 0.
Quarterscores: 26-26, 51-52, 83-88, 108-107
