TNT races to 2nd win in row
AFTER having it up and down early in the PBA Philippine Cup, the TNT KaTropa finally got some semblance of winning pattern after defeating the Meralco Bolts, 99-81, yesterday in their matinee engagement at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City
Towed by their steady shooting, especially from beyond the arc, the KaTropa kept the Bolts at bay throughout the contest to finally win back- to- back games in the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association ( PBA) tournament and improve to 3-2 while adding to the woes of Meralco (1-3) which has now lost three straight games.
TNT got off to a flying start with forward Troy Rosario leading the way.
The former National University stalwart strung up three straight triples in the first two minutes of the opening frame to help his team to an early 9-1 advantage.
The KaTropa held a 16-3 lead midway into the first canto before settling for a 27-18 advantage at quarter’s end.
Control remained on the side of TNT at the beginning of the second quarter as it outscored Meralco, 11-7, to hold a 38- 25 cushion with seven minutes to play in the first half.
Meralco would go on a 7-0 mini run to come within six points, 3832, at the 3:18 mark before Jayson Castro, Mr. Rosario and Ryan Reyes led a counter by TNT to jack up their lead back to double digits, 46- 36, by the halftime break.
In the third period it was the Bolts’ turn to have a fast start, racing to an 11- 6 run with just three minutes lapsing to come within 52-47.
But the KaTropa would stand their ground, making sure not to give their opponents much real estate thereafter to close out the third canto with a 73- 62 distance.
TNT opened the payoff quarter with back-to-back triples care of Anthony Semerad and Mr. Castro to extend its lead to 16 points, 79-63, with 10:42 left to play.
The KaTropa stretched it further to 22 points, 92-70, six minutes later, which pretty much took the game away from the reach of the Bolts.
Mr. Rosario led TNT with 22 points, 18 of it coming from beyond the arc, to go along with 10 rebounds.
RR Garcia had 18 points and eight assists while RR Pogoy and Mr. Castro came off the bench to chip in 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Meralco, meanwhile, was paced by Baser Amer with 20 points with Jared Dillinger finishing with 14 points.
“I just felt the rhythm early on so I just kept on shooting,” said Mr. Rosario of his steady shooting from three-point land during the game, going 6- of-10, which started it all for TNT.
“It’s something I practice a lot and give time to develop so I’m happy I hit the mark today,” he added.
TNT returns to court on Saturday, Jan. 27, against the Magnolia Hotshots ( 4- 1) while Meralco makes another go at snapping its skid against the Kia Picanto (1-4) on Wednesday.