Bolts, Texters make Final 4
TNT KaTropa and Meralco rolled past their lower-ranked opponents in the quarterfinals last night at the Ynares Sports Center, making the PBA Governors Cup Final Four a grand ball among the top seeds.
The top- ranked Tropang Texters overwhelmed No. 8 the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 136-124, while the fourth seeded Bolts dismantled No. 5 the Mahindra Enforcers, 105-82, to also set the stage for a pair of best-of-five semifinal face-offs between sister teams under corporate giants MVP Group and San Miguel Corp.
Titleholder San Miguel Beer and crowd darling Barangay Ginebra begin their showdown at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
TNT and Meralco start their own Final Four confrontation Tuesday night also at the Big Dome.
Jason Castro played like an import, pouring in a career second- best 42 points as the Texters booked a return stint in the PBA Final Four for the first time since their title run in the 2014-15 Commissioner’s Cup.
So amazing was Castro that he torched the Fuel Masters with 14-of-26 field goals and 9-of-12 charities in just 27 minutes of action.
He could’ve easily surpassed his career-best 44-point output had coach Jong Uichico not decided to rest the reigning FIBA Asia best point guard after the Texters opened a 20-point lead at 121-101 with 6:41 to go.
Earlier, Meralco clamped down on Mahindra’s local top guns and made it 3-0 over the Enforcers in two weeks.
Keeping Aldrech Ramos, KG Canaleta, Paolo Taha and LA Revilla in check, the Bolts sent the Enforcers down on their knees and moved to the semifinals to join early qualifiers the Beermen and the Kings.
After close wins in their previous matches (86-83 and 10499), Meralco came out and tore Mahindra apart on a wondrous performance in the last 34 minutes of this quarterfinal game.
The Enforcers jumped out of the starting block and led by 15 at 35-20, 14 minutes into the game, but then the Bolts made the necessary adjustments, turned the game around in no time and scored a lopsided triumph.
“We really felt that this is an important game for us. Had we lost tonight we’d give them the confidence as we play another game,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
“The team has come a long way in the past two conferences. The semis is not the end. We need to win the championship,” Black also said.
The Bolts pulled a solid job together on the defensive end, neutralizing the Mahindra players.
NOTES: Ginebra coach Tim Cone expects to have their hands full against San Miguel Beer in their semis matchup. “No offense to TNT which topped the elims, I think SMB is still the team to beat in the semis. With June Mar (Fajardo) and all the weapons around him, it’s not a stretch to say they’re really tough. Fajardo is tough to handle especially without Greg (Slaughter),” said Cone. The scores: First Game MERALCO 105 – Durham 24, Newsome 19, Hodge 14, Dillinger 12, Amer 7, Alapag 6, Faundo 6, Hugnatan 6, Nabong 5, Caram 2, Chua 2, Guevarra 2, Uyloan 0, Al-Hussaini 0, Buenafe 0.
MAHINDRA 82 – White 20, Digregorio 14, Guinto 8, Agovida 7, Paniamogan 7, Taha 6, Canaleta 5, Jaime 5, Ballesteros 4, Ramos 3, Revilla 3, Bagatsing 0, Gallanza 0, Yee 0. Quarterscores: 18-26, 50-45, 84-61, 105-82 Second Game TNT KATROPA 136 – Castro 42, Madanly 17, De Ocampo 16, Reyes 16, Fonacier 13, Williams 12, Rosales 9, Ammons 7, Rosario 4, Rosser 0, Tautuaa 0.
PHOENIX 124 – Phelps 39, Lee 24, Baguio 10, J. Wilson 10, Enciso 9, Lanete 9, Borboran 7, Urbiztondo 5, Hayes 4, Torres 3, Cruz 2, Intal 2, Buenafe 0, Pennisi 0, W. Wilson 0.
Quarterscores: 32- 34, 70- 67, 10793, 136-124