ANTIPOLO — TNT overcame a sloppy endgame before escaping San Miguel by way of a 96-91 decision to capture Game 1 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals at the Ynares Center here, Wednesday night.
The Tropang 5G got off to a swashbuckling start and led by as many as 19 but the Beermen roared back after the break, and even threatened by knocking within just a point twice inside the final seven minutes of the series opener.
Fortunately for Coach Chot Reyes, Calvin Oftana and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser were there to keep their rivals at bay with crucial hits, before Jordan Heading closed it out with perfect trips to the foul line in the last 6.8.
It also helped last season’s double champions a great deal that June Mar Fajardo and later on Don Trollano missed what could’ve been big shots, eventually drawing first blood in the best-of-7 championship affair.
Six players finished in double figures in the win, with Kelly Williams leading the way with 15 points which he laced with nine rebounds and three assists.
