Roger Pogoy came through with a bounce-back performance to lead TNT past a hard-fighting Converge, 110-103, and return to the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup win column, Saturday night at the Chavit Coliseum in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
After being held to just nine points in their 92-77 defeat to Ginebra the last time out, the Cebuano gunner rifled in 27 this time behind a solid shooting from the outside that indeed helped a great deal in foiling the FiberXers’ upset bid.
He first scored the Tropang 5G’s last 12 points to give themselves a decade’s worth of a lead at 82-72 to end the third canto, and then showed up when it mattered most–at a time when the opposition imposed a major threat.
Converge tied the game up at 90-all past the midway mark of the final period behind Justine Baltazar, but Pogoy delivered arguably the biggest assist of the night when his extra pass to Rey Nambatac led to a booming four by the latter.
He then knocked down a crucial triple shortly after, thus pushing their lead back 97-90 with 4:37 remaining to put TNT ahead permanently.
Pogoy shot 10-of-22 from the floor, including six of the team’s 20 three-pointers, as Coach Chot Reyes’ wards clicked from deep after a slow start.
The Season 49 Mythical Second Team member also collected five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block for a full line in nearly 34 minutes of action to lead the Tropa in tallying their second win in three games thus far.
(C) PBA Images
Also redeeming himself after a paltry six-point showing versus the Kings was Calvin Oftana, who finished with 18 points, including 16 in the first half.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Kelly Williams supplied 14 points apiece while Nambatac added 10 markers as the troika helped apply the finishing touches.
TNT (2-1) will look to build its first winning streak of the tourney when it takes on Titan Ultra on October 24, Friday, 7:30 p.m. at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Alec Stockton and Justin Arana, on the other hand, finished with 19 points apiece to lead Converge in the 14-point comeback that fell short.
Arana himself still managed to finish with that many points with five rebounds despite suffering a sprained left ankle at the 6:35-mark of the second period, and his time away on the floor enabled the Tropang 5G to post a 43-30 lead.
He did manage to return during the third, and his presence, especially inside, allowed the FiberXers to gradually chip away at the deficit before tying things up.
(C) PBA Images
But the charges of Coach Delta Pineda just couldn’t find the extra gear to get past the opposition, and Pogoy & Co. would go on to hand out a lesson in showing better poise whenever the going gets tough toward a strong finish.
Baltazar and Winston made 17 points each, with the latter adding 12 rebounds. Juan Gomez de Liano added a 14-9-6 stat line in a losing effort.
Converge (1-1) will look to get back on track quickly against Terrafirma on Wednesday, October 22, 5:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Scores:
TNT 110 – Pogoy 27, Oftana 18, Williams 14, Ganuelas-Rosser 14, Nambatac 10, Enciso 9, Ferrer 8, Galinato 8, Aurin 2, Jalalon 0, Khobuntin 0, Hill 0.
Converge 103 – Stockton 19, Arana 19, Baltazar 17, Winston 17, Gomez de Liano 14, Delos Santos 6, Racal 6, Caralipio 3, Javillonar 2, Garcia 0, Suerte 0, Santos 0.
Quarterscores: 22-18, 53-42, 82-72, 110-103.
