TNT IN HOT START
SMB dominant in separate semis kickoff vs Meralco
Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 3 p.m. – San Miguel vs Meralco / 6 p.m. – Magnolia vs TNT
As if carrying over the trend of their titular duel last year, holder TNT thoroughly dominated Magnolia at the start of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series.
Mikey Williams, the biggest thorn on the side of the Hotshots in the Tropang Giga’s previous 4-1 championship romp, pounded their rivals anew with 26 points to anchor a 108-96 romp yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Williams fired 12 in the second quarter alone as he sparked TNT to a 49-30 upperhand that set the tone for the runaway triumph in the race-to-four dispute for a finals seat.
The Season 46 Rookie of the Year and scoring champion’s explosion was well-complemented by the 23-point production of RR Pogoy, who went to work in the third to help the Tropang Giga extend their lead to a high 24 at 84-60.
Glenn Khobuntin banged in 18 in an effective supporting role while veteran Jayson Castro chipped in 12.
The Tropang Giga’s defense stifled the Hotshots to a 36.4-percent field goal (32-of-88) while making 48.1 percent of their shots (39-of-81) with Magnolia top gun Paul Lee held to nine on a 3-of-10 clip and Mark Barroca finishing with seven after going 3-of-8.
Calvin Abueva (18) took the scoring cudgels for the Hotshots as Jio Jalalon, Ian Sangalang and Aris Dionisio contributed 14 apiece.
As dominant as they were in the opening game, TNT coach Chot Reyes doesn’t expect this ongoing entanglement to be a replay of their finale in Bacolor last year.
“I think it (Magnolia) is a muchimproved team and I told the players we can’t expect this is going to be the same as last series. For us to be competitive against them, we have to raise our level as well,” said Reyes.
It was a close 18-15 contest before Castro spearheaded a 10-4 salvo ending the first as TNT raced to a 28-19 tear.
In the other Final Four series starter, San Miguel Beer roared to a wire-to-wire 121-97 triumph over Meralco.
Rodney Brondial dished out a career-high 20 on an excellent 8-of-10 marksmanship to go with 11 boards to give his star-studded teammates a big lift in the opening win.
CJ Perez punched in 25 markers to take scoring honors, making 10 of them in the first where he sparked the Beermen to an early 33-17 gap. Vic Manuel shot 16 and June Mar Fajardo delivered 11-6-5 as SMB’s frontliners struck hard to get this one.
The scores:
First Game
TNT 108 – M. Williams 26, Pogoy 23, Khobuntin 18, Castro 12, Montalbo 8, Erram 6, K.Williams 4, Marcelo 4, Tungcab 3, Rosario 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Alejandro 0, Cruz 0.
Magnolia 96 – Abueva 18, Sangalang 14, Jalalon 14, Dionisio 14, Laput 12, Lee 9, Barroca 7, Dela Rosa 5, Wong 2, Reavis 1, Zaldivar 0, Corpuz 0.
Quarterscores: 28-19, 54-37, 86-66, 108-96 Second Game San Miguel 121 – Perez 25, Brondial 20, Manuel 16, Fajardo 11, Lassiter 10, Cruz 9, Enciso 8, Tautuaa 8, Herndon 7, Pessumal 5, Ross 2.
Meralco 97 – Banchero 17, Almazan 16, Jose 12, Hodge 11, Newsome 9, Quinto 9, Pascual 9, Black 8, Caram 4, Maliksi 2, Belo 0, Baclao 0, Pasaol 0.
Quarterscores: 33-17, 60-41, 85-64, 121-97