After two heartbreaking defeats, the Star Hotshots vented their frustrations on TNT Katropa, scoring an emphatic 88-77 win to create a logjam at sixth place, Sunday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Star and TNT are now tied in the standings together with the Alaska Aces, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, and the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
“Wala pang kasiguraduhan dito, San Miguel pa lang yung pasok,” Star head coach Chito Victolero said.
Ian Sangalang powered Star with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting and six rebounds. Aldrech Ramos and Allein Maliksi added 13 markers each with the former going 3-of-4 from long distance and grabbing seven rebounds.
“The mindset is our defense versus their offense. We limited them under 80 and our goal was 90 because they average around 100,” the first-year Star mentor remarked about the game.
After TNT scored the first basket of the game 3:49 into the game, the Hotshots only allowed TNT to score just one field goal in the next five minutes as they raced to a 15-4 lead.
Star did not let go, finding a consistent gear as the lead grew to as high as 19 points, 59-40, after a triple by Aldrech Ramos early in the third canto.
“Maganda yung gamplan at execution ng players. We are proud of our guards because they stepped up their defense especially against [Jayson] Castro,” Victolero added.
Rookie Jio Jalalon, Mark Barroca, and Justin Melton all took turns trying to seal Castro for the entire game. It proved to be successful as Castro was limited to just 16 points on a dismal 4-of-15 shooting, 2.8 points below his norms.
Star cooled down on offense in the final frame but did not let their guard down. TNT was only able to convert on four field goals in the last 12 minutes of the contest with the lead only going to as low as seven points, 84-77, after a split on the stripe by Ranidel de Ocampo with 1:13 remaining.
Star narrowly out-rebounded TNT, 48-47, but were able to have an 18-8 advantage in second chance points. Moreover, Star’s bench carried them to the win, scoring 47 points of their total output.
De Ocampo paced TNT with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
The Star Hotshots (4-4) will have a 10-day break before facing the Blackwater Elite on Wednesday, January 25 at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. TNT Katropa (4-4) will next face the Mahindra Floodbuter (2-5) on Wednesday, January 18.
The Scores:
Star 88 – Sangalang 14, Maliksi 13, Ramos 13, Lee 10, Jalalon 9, Barroca 8, Pingris 7, Reavis 5, Dela Rosa 4, Melton 3, Simon 2, Brondial 0.
TNT 77 – De Ocampo 21, Castro 16, Pogoy 7, Rosario 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 6, Tautuaa 6, Williams 4, Rosales 4, Fonacier 3, Reyes 3, Carey 0, Golla 0.
Quarterscores: 20-12, 56-39, 73-62, 88-77.
