TNT SNAPS GINEBRA RUN, SMB ESCAPES
Games on Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 3 p.m. – Blackwater vs Rain or Shine 6 p.m. – Meralco vs Ginebra Already assured of a spot in the playoffs, TNT stayed in the hunt for a Top Two finish and a twice-to-beat quarterfinals advantage as it doused cold water on previously sizzling Barangay Ginebra, 106-92, in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Roger Pogoy rifled in 30 points on top of eight rebounds and three steals to banner five players in double digits for the Tropang Giga, who pulled away in the second half to finish the elimination round at 8-3, in front of 10,306 fans.
Mikey Williams (19), Glenn Khobuntin (16), Kelly Williams (12) and Kib Montalbo (10) were also on target as TNT stayed in contention for the playoff bonus, but depending on the remaining games of San Miguel (8-1), Ginebra (6-2) and Blackwater (5-2).
“We wanted to get as many wins as possible. We’re really going for 9-2 (for Top Two) but we fell short by one so we just have to be ready for whoever we have to play in the quarterfinals,” said coach Chot Reyes in a fitting sendoff win before he flies to Jakarta, Indonesia for the Gilas Pilipinas’ FIBA Asia Cup campaign.
But more than that, Reyes and his wards gifted a win to MVP Group of Companies chairman Manny V. Pangilinan (MVP) to fire off his birthday week.
“This is the start of the birthday week of our chairman, Mr. MVP, so we really wanted the win. I thought that’s the best gift for our chairman. There’s no better gift than a victory tonight to start his whole birthday week,” added Reyes on MVP, who will celebrate his 76th birthday on July 14.
TNT was coming off a 115-99 loss to San Miguel last week before quickly getting back on track with a 14-point beatdown of another nemesis Ginebra, which had a prior four-game run.
Earlier, San Miguel survived a meltdown and eluded a massive upset with a 110-107 overtime escape against the gritty Blackwater side to shore up its own playoff incentive bid.
The Beermen squandered a mammoth 21-point lead in the payoff period and teetered on the brink of disaster before flaunting their proven and tested championship pedigree in the wild finish.
Behind the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and Jericho Cruz, SMB salvaged a fifth straight win to firm up grip on the top spot at 8-1. The scores: First Game San Miguel 110 – Cruz 25, Fajardo 25, Perez 23, Tautuaa 17, Lassiter 5, Herndon 5, Zamar 4, Enciso 2, Canete 2, Faundo 2.
Blackwater 107 – McCarthy 22, Suerte 18, Amer 17, Casio 15, Ganuelas-Rosser 11, Ular 8, Sena 8, Taha 6, Ebona 2, Melton 0, Escoto 0, Ayonayon 0, Torralba 0. Quarterscores: 19-17, 47-44, 82-65, 97-97 (reg.), 110-107 (OT) Second Game TNT 106 – Pogoy 30, M.Williams 19, Khobuntin 16, K.Williams 12, Montalbo 10, Erram 9, Cruz 7, Castro 3, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Ginebra 92 – J.Aguilar 18, Tenorio 15, Standhardinger 15, Tolentino 14, Thompson 13, Pringle 7, Chan 5, Mariano 3, Pinto 2, David 0, Caperal 0, Salado 0.
Quarterscores: 27-23, 54-46, 78-65, 106-92