by Jonas Terrado
Game Saturday (Angeles City, Pampanga)
5 p.m. – NLEX vs Ginebra
ANTIPOLO CITY – TNT KaTropa survived a gallant stand by the Columbian Dyip, 101-98, to stay in contention for a twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center here.
The KaTropa almost squandered an 18-point third quarter lead as the Dyip charged back to pull within three on Rashawn McCarthy’s corner trey with under a minute left.
A stop on the next play gave Columbian another door to send the game into overtime but McCarthy muffed two three-point attempts before time expired.
TNT won its fifth straight for a 7-3 record, half-game behind Rain or Shine (8-3) for second place going into Sunday’s important match against NorthPort at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Another win puts the KaTropa in a tie with the Elasto Painters which will enhance their quest for a quarterfinal bonus.
TNT will gain the twice-to-beat if it beats NorthPort and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel loses one of its final three games.
Buoyed up by two tough wins over Phoenix Pulse and Magnolia, Ginebra knows it will need to keep its A-game in order to beat NLEX in the Petron Blaze Saturday Special match set at 5 p.m.
“Hopefully in our last game we can come out strong,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena, who wasn’t satisfied with the way the KaTropa closed out the match.
The KaTropa appeared to be heading toward an easy win when veteran guard Ryan Reyes sparked a third quarter breakaway to lead, 73-55.
Reyes finished with 19 points, four rebounds and two assists while Jayson Castro ended a stretch of low-scoring games with 20 points alongside seven assists.
In the second game, Magnolia endured Blackwater’s determined effort before pulling away for a 97-87 win to move a win shy of securing a quarterfinals berth.
Ian Sangalang had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Rome dela Rosa topscored with 17 and Paul Lee added 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the Hotshots climbed to solo sixth with a 5-5 record.
Veteran center Rafi Reavis added 11 points and nine rebounds to help Magnolia completed a difficult stretch of three games in five days by winning twice.
The Hotshots had to overcome the upset bid of the Elite, who were hoping to finish a disappointing campaign with a win.
Allein Maliksi and Mac Belo finished with 16 points each for Blackwater, which ended the tourney at 2-9.
Scores:
First Game
TNT 101 – Castro 20, Reyes 19, Rosario 19, Pogoy 14, Williams 12, Heruela 8, Taha 4, Carey 2, Semerad 2, Washington 1, Cruz 0, Trollano 0, Miranda 0.
COLUMBIAN 98 – Perez 22, McCarthy 17, Camson 14, Corpuz 13, Calvo 13, Khobuntin 11, Faundo 4, Reyes 3, Celda 2, Cabrera 0, Escoto 0, Cahilig 0.
Quarters: 20-19, 47-37, 80-67, 101-98.
Second Game
Magnolia 97 – Dela Rosa 17, Lee 16, Sangalang 16, Reavis 11, Barroca 11, Brondial 10, Melton 9, Jalalon 4, Ramos 3, Simon 0, Gamalinda 0, Pascual 0, Abundo 0.
Blackwater 87 – Maliksi 16, Belo 16, Dario 11, Eriobu 10, Al-Hussaini 9, Tratter 8, Banal 7, Digregorio 4, Sena 3, Desiderio 3, Sumang 0, Javier 0.
Quarters: 20-20, 49-41, 68-61, 97-87
