By REYNALD MAGALLON
TNT rode a huge second half storm and turned back Phoenix, 108-101, to keep itself in the hunt for the twice-to-beat advantage in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Wednesday, April 24.
The Tropang Giga gave the Fuel Masters a dose of their own medicine, catching fire from deep to anchor a 42-point third quarter explosion to erase a once huge 23-point deficit.
TNT got back on the winning track after a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of Barangay Ginebra last time out to list its fifth win through nine games, enough for the solo fifth spot in the standings.
RR Pogoy led the attack with 23 points and eight rebounds while Calvin Oftana added 19 points and nine rebounds.
The Tropang Giga also got solid contributions from Glenn Khobuntin and Kim Aurin, who, at one point, nailed four consecutive triples – the last of which gave TNT the lead for the first time, 79-76, since the first half.
More than the offensive explosion, however, it was Kelly Williams who keyed the second half run, anchoring the defense for TNT and forcing Phoenix to some stretches of scoring droughts.
Williams actually turned back the hands of time and poured in a double-double of 17 points, 13 rebounds and two steals. Aurin and Khobuntin, meanwhile, chipped in 11 and 12, respectively.
Hardly cooling down from its hard shooting in the victory against NLEX, Phoenix came out firing from deep with 10 triples in the first half – the last one from Jjay Alejandro that made it 62-39 for the Fuel Masters.
TNT, however, came alive in the third frame with Oftana, Pogoy and Williams spearheading a pivotal 19-4 run that allowed TNT to close in 65-71.
Meantime, Stephen Holt rose to the occasion and scored the go-ahead basket as Terrafirma outlasted NorthPort, 110-108, to give its playoff hopes a huge boost.
With Dyip’s wheels seemingly falling off after their back-to-back losses that put their playoff hopes suddenly hanging in the balance, Holt took charge and threaded through the Batang Pier’s defense to score the clutch basket that broke a 108-all deadlock with 3.1 seconds left.
Terrafirma then held on with its defense in the waning seconds as they bothered Arvin Tolentino’s potential game-tying shot to improve its record to 5-5 while sinking NorthPort further down in the standings with a 4-6 slate after its fifth straight loss.
Holt put up an all-around effort for Terrafirma with 22 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals while Juami Tiongson added 21 points and six assists but was reduced to a spectator in the final 24 seconds of the contest after fouling out.
Holt’s big basket also preserved a solid effort from fellow rookie Louie Sangalang who finished with 19 points while Javi Gomez De Liano added 14.
The win not only gave head coach Johnedel Cardel his first conference with five victories but also put one of Terrafirma’s feet already inside the playoff door. It also ended Dyip’s record of futility against the Batang Pier who defeated them in their last seven meetings.
