ANTIPOLO — TNT clinched a quarterfinal berth in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup after completing a group-phase sweep of San Miguel Beer by way of a dominant 116-98 victory at the Ynares Center here, Saturday night.
The reigning champs turned it around in the third before pulling away wide in the fourth, leaning on defense by limiting the Beermen to just 33 points in the second half toward netting their second straight win since the tourney resumed.
(C) PBA Images
“We came into the game with an attitude that we have to outwork San Miguel. If we just match their effort, we can’t win. The only way we could give ourselves a chance is to outhustle them,” said head coach Chot Reyes.
“I think we did that. When we did that, everything fell into place,” he added as their effort, especially on D, held their rivals to only 15 points in the final frame.
The Tropang 5G improved to 6-4 following the win, gaining solo third behind the 8-2 NLEX and San Miguel, who stayed at No. 2 at 7-3. Both the Road Warriors and SMB are assured of advancing after last Wednesday’s results.
Nick Hornsby led the way with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals as he continues to impress since replacing Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson.
Roger Pogoy went an efficient 5-for-9 from three-point distance and finished with 21 points, eventually earning Player of the Game honors.
Calvin Oftana supplied 18 points and seven rebounds plus three assists, with Rey Nambatac coming through with 15 points and five rebounds.
Jayson Castro delivered 13 points on 4-of-4 shooting, plus three rebounds and three assists, for his best game yet since returning.
Jordan Heading and Henry Galinato added 12 and 10, respectively, as TNT deployed a balanced attack to take down the same team it beat earlier in the conference, a 93-89 overtime decision last August 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We scored 60 points in the first half, so offense was not a problem. Even then, down pa rin kami at the half. When we made the defensive adjustments, things fell into place,” said the champion bench tactician.
(C) PBA Images
CJ Perez, on the other hand, finished with 21 points to lead the Beermen in the defeat that put a screeching halt to their three-game winning streak.
George King made 20 points, four rebounds, and six assists. Marcio Lassiter had 16 despite being in foul trouble, while June Mar Fajardo added 14 & 18.
The Scores:
TNT 116 – Hornsby 23, Pogoy 21, Oftana 18, Nambatac 15, Castro 13, Heading 12, Galinato 10, Quitevis 2, Khobuntin 2, Ambohot 0.
San Miguel 98 – Perez 21, King 20, Lassiter 16, Fajardo 14, Cruz 9, Ross 6, Tautuaa 6, Trollano 3, Ahanmisi 3, Cahilig 0, Calma 0.
Quarterscores: 30-33, 60-65, 93-83, 116-98.
