By REYNALD MAGALLON
TNT got its much-needed momentum for the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup playoffs after sinking NorthPort, 99-79, in their all-Filipino battle in the penultimate day of the eliminations at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Sept. 22.
Playing shorthanded with some of their key players out of commission, the assured top seed Tropang Giga banked on a back-breaking 22-8 run bridging the last two quarters to pull away and finish the eliminations with an 8-2 record.
Old reliables Jayson Castro, Kelly Williams along with JP Erram and Rey Nambatac delivered the goods during that run as TNT created the separation from a tight 52-all affair midway through the third.
When the dust settled, the Tropang Giga already built a 74-60 margin, enough to take the fight out of the Batang Pier in the final frame. The lead continued to swell from there and even reached as high as 25 points in the waning minutes of the contest.
Erram led the way with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for TNT which played without import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Star forward Calvin Oftana failed to finish even the first half of the contest after sustaining a bad cut to his lip.
Nambatac provided support with 15 points and 11 rebounds on top of four steals while RR Pogoy added 14. Henry Galinato had 11 points and seven rebounds while Williams finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Arvin Tolentino finished with 24 points and six rebounds while Cade Flores had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Batang Pier who played their last two games without an import after Venky Jois suffered an Achilles injury.
NorthPort finished the conference at the fifth spot of Group A with a 3-7 record.
The Scores :
TNT 99 – Erram 17, Nambatac 15, Pogoy 14, Galinato 11, Williams 9, Oftana 7, Castro 6, Khobuntin 5, Ebona 4, Vosotros 3, Payawal 3, Heruela 2, Varilla 2, Exciminiano 1.
NORTHPORT 79 – Tolentino 24, Flores 18, Onwubere 7, Jalalon 6, Yu 5, Navarro 5, Amores 4, Nelle 3, Munzon 2, Taha 2, Cuntapay 2, Tratter 0, Bulanadi 0.
QUARTERS : 19-25, 43-36, 65-60, 99-79
