ANTIPOLO – TNT relied on its veterans when the going got tough to take down Converge in overtime, 101-98, to chalk up win no. 1 in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night at the Ynares Center here.
Jayson Castro steadied the ship following Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s ejection, while the tandem of Jewel Ponferrada and Brian Heruela provided the surprise spark in the extra period to save their side from an 18-point collapse.
“The guys, more than anything, played their hearts out,” lauded TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa. “For some reason, they want to win this game.”
Castro finished with a team-high 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in nearly 31 minutes in the victory that hiked their card to 1-1.
Ponferrada supplied 12 points, four of which he made in OT that included the bucket to break the 95-all deadlock with 2:52 remaining.
The seasoned big man and Heruela were responsible for keeping the Tropa ahead amid the opposition’s fightback. Heruela was the one who pushed their lead to 99-96 approaching the last two minutes.
And when the FiberXers got to within a solitary point behind Jerrick Balanza, Ponferrada made sure not to waste Castro’s nifty pocket pass, turning it to a dime to give themselves the 101-98 edge with 16.9 seconds left to play.
Mac Tallo and Tom Vodanovich had good looks from deep on the other end but could not capitalize, sealing the victory for TNT.
Calvin Oftana finished with 19 points and five rebounds, while Glenn Khobuntin added 10 points for the Tropang Giga, which will face Terrafirma next on November 22, Wednesday, 4 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Vodanovich, meanwhile, led Converge with 25 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in the defeat — now their second in as many outings.
Balanza supplied 18 points as he helped the FiberXers pounce on the premature exit of RHJ, who got thrown out for an F2 infraction after “throwing” the ball to Mike Nieto following a dunk with 11:18 to go in the third canto.
The team was already down by five, 95-90, late in regulation but Balanza hit a triple to slice the gap, before Vodanovich cleaned up the young forward’s missed jumper to tie the game up with 15.2 seconds left in regulation.
The match then headed into another five minutes after Castro missed the potential game-winning jumper as time expired.
Justin Arana made 12 points and six rebounds, while Kevin Racal added 10 for Converge, who will welcome the debuting Barangay Ginebra on November 17, Friday, at 8 p.m. also at the Big Dome for its next assignment.
The Scores:
TNT 101 – Castro 23, Oftana 19, Hollis-Jefferson 14, Ponferada 12, Khobuntin 10, Williams 8, Heruela 5, Tolomia 4, Reyes 3, Galinato 2, Cruz 1, Tungcab 0.
Converge 98 – Vodanovich 25, Balanza 18, Arana 12, Racal 10, Tallo 9, Winston 8, Stockton 6, Nieto 6, Melecio 4, Fornilos 0, Wong 0, Maagdenberg 0, Santos 0.
Quarterscores: 28-22, 55-39, 74-64, 95-95, 101-98
