In a game that would decide who would reign on top, the TNT KaTropa punched in a 104-92 victory over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to seal their first place seat in the standings and cap the single-round elimination round at the Alonte Sports Arena, Laguna, on Sunday evening.
For the entire game, TNT held control and the lead for most of the game. Led by the game-long prowess of the duo of Jayson Castro and Mychal Ammons, the KaTropa snapped a four-game winning run of Ginebra.
“We knew coming into this game that when you play them (Ginebra), they would have a lot of weapons on the offensive end especially their import,” said the 24-year-old TNT import.
A 14-4 blast to start off the final canto propelled KaTropa to their biggest lead of the game at 92-70. Ginebra had a final run ignited by two three-pointers by Justin Brownlee to cut the lead and make the game interesting down the stretch.
In the midst of Ginebra’s comeback, Mark Caguioa muffed a fast break layup that would have pushed the lead down to just a dozen. However, Jayson Castro responded and drilled in a rally-extinguishing triple to add to the crowd-favorite squad’s hopes. Moreover, Larry Fonacier added another make from beyond-the-arc to put on the finishing touches.
Jayson Castro played another stellar night with a double-double 19 points, 10 assists, with no turnovers in 34 minutes of action. Overall, TNT shot 43 percent from the floor and a 13/35 clip from beyond-the-arc that was sufficient to dismantle Ginebra.
“I’m not here to change the way they play,” added Ammons. “With a player like Jayson, I’m just here to add the little things like the intangibles.”
Ginebra missed the services of the big man Greg Slaughter, that was evident in TNT’s 58-52 rebounding edge. Brownlee finished with 34 points and 14 rebounds in the losing effort. LA Tenorio chipped in 21 markers.
A win would have given Ginebra the top spot in the standings due to the “win over the other” rule. They will still have a twice-to-beat advantage as third placers, but will now face the hottest team in the league entering the quarters, the sixth-seeded Alaska Aces.
Their bracket will be played on Thursday, 7pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
On the other hand, the KaTropa will wait for the winner of the playoff game between the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Phoenix Fuel Masters. The No. 1 vs. No. 8 pairing will joust it out on Friday, 4:15, at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
TNT (104) – Ammons 24, Castro 19, Madanly 18, Fonacier 14, Reyes 9, De Ocampo 8, Rosario 6, Williams 4, Rosales 2, Tautuaa 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Ginebra (92) – Brownlee 34, Tenorio 21, Aguilar 11, Thompson 8, Marcelo 6, Devance 4, Mercado 4, Cruz 2, Caguioa 2, Helterbrand 0, Mariano 0.
Quarterscores: 20-18, 43-35, 78-66, 104-92
