Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times
(C) PBA Images

Basketball

PBA: Oliver, Williams connive as TNT staves off Rosario-less Blackwater


Cameron Oliver and Mikey Williams turned in stellar performances as TNT added to Blackwater’s woes by way of a 109-98 decision to rebound in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

The ex-NBA cager finished with 38 points and 10 rebounds, while the league’s reigning scoring king tallied a conference-high 28 points as the two helped the Tropang Giga seize control in the second half on the way to their third win.

“My team had a great flow going and I just had to come in and do what I needed to do,” offered Williams as the flagship MVP Group franchise redeemed itself from the shock loss to Frankie Lim and NLEX just last Wednesday.

Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana made their presence felt as well with 11 points apiece as the two helped Oliver and Williams in putting away the Bossing for good in the fourth quarter after trailing multiple times prior.

The Tropa, which trailed by nine early, went on to lead by as many as 15 points twice inside the last 1:41 thanks to the Gilas Pilipinas stalwarts.

The crew shot 48-percent from the floor and nailed 10 triples but its defense was truly the key after forcing Blackwater to 31 turnovers.

“We intentionally put a lot of emphases and focus on our defense,” said head coach Chot Reyes. “All of our discussions in practice and in our film sessions were all on defense, specifically our ability to come out and pressure teams.”

The match would’ve actually been TNT’s first against Troy Rosario since trading him to the Bossing by way of a three-team trade that involved the Road Warriors last September, but the 6-foot-7 forward sat out due to plantar fasciitis.

#ReadMore  Tamaraws outlast Tiger Spikers for third win

Cameron Krutwig led Blackwater with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the defeat, its second in a row since beating Terrafirma last October 14.

Both squads will hit the court again next week, taking turns facing Converge. TNT will face the FiberXers first on Friday, 3 p.,m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, and the Bossing next on Sunday at the Ynares Center.

The Scores:

TNT 108 – Oliver 38, M.Williams 28, Pogoy 11, Oftana 11, K.Williams 7, Castro 6, Tungcab 5, Erram 2, Montalbo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0

Blackwater 98 – Krutwig 25, Amer 16, Suerte 15, Ular 13, Banal 12, McCarthy 11, Jackson 4, Taha 2, Melton 0, Ebona 0, Sena 0, Sena 0, Go 0, Ayonayon 0, Publico 0

Quarterscores: 24-27, 53-51, 83-71, 108-98

The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

ANTIPOLO — San Miguel has gotten on a winning run since Leo Austria came back following a 115-102 victory over the hard-luck Blackwater in...

Basketball

Blackwater nailed its first win of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup after a 114-98 conquest of Meralco on Thursday night at the Ninoy...

Basketball

Calvin Oftana erupted for a career-high 42 points to power TNT past the struggling Magnolia, 103-100, for their breakthrough win in the PBA Season...

Basketball

Hong Kong Eastern turned it up in the third quarter to send Blackwater skidding, 84-75, and get another winning streak going in the PBA...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO — Joshua Munzon came through with the biggest of plays down the stretch to lift NorthPort past TNT, 100-95, to stay perfect in...

Basketball

A complete Hong Kong Eastern squad flexed its might by obliterating the debuting TNT, 105-84, in a dominant bounce-back victory in the PBA Season...

Basketball

NLEX barged into the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup win column by keeping Blackwater winless, 107-95, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. The...

Basketball

Magnolia overcame Calvin Abueva’s concerning departure to take down Blackwater, 118-100, to commence their PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup campaign on a high note...

Advertisement