GAMES TOMORROW
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
5 p.m. – Ginebra vs. SMB
7:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs. TNT
TNT big man JP Erram stifled Rain or Shine forward Leonard Santillan’s hook shot try before collaring the rebound and falling hard on the court last night.
Such effort nearly went down the drain but the Tropang 5G did just enough to fashion a 98-91 victory over the Elasto Painters in Game 1 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals showdown at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Erram and Roger Pogoy combined in a telling 9-0 blitz from there with the former scoring on a short stab and a three-pointer that sandwiched a booming Pogoy four that made it an 86-76 game in the last 3:06.
Coach Chot Reyes said his charges followed their game plan of making life a living hell for the usually fiery Rain or Shine offense.
“I thought our defense held the fort. We know Rain or Shine is the second-highest scoring team in the league. They’re averaging over 100 points a game. So, we really wanted to keep them possibly below 90,” Reyes said. “We almost did that, except we gave up a lot of fouls in the end.
“So, I think that was the difference maker, our ability to force them to play half court. When they play half-court, we have a better chance of defending them,” he added.
On the night he was feted as the newest member of the pro league’s 5,000 points club, Pogoy drilled in 28 points, to go with two rebounds, and four assists for the Tropang 5G while Erram produced a double-double of 16 markers and 10 boards.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser also had 13 points and 10 caroms while three other TNT players hit double figures in Simon Enciso (12), Calvin Oftana (12) and Jordan Heading (11).
The grand slam-seeking Tropang 5G and the Painters both came off hard-fought triumphs in the quarterfinals opposite higher-seeded foes Magnolia (No. 3) and NLEX (No. 2).
Knotted at 41-all at the intermission, TNT grabbed a 63-58 lead entering the fourth period.
Oftana drained three free throws that pushed the Tropang 5G’s edge to as much as 91-80 with 1:28 to go, only for Rain or Shine to crawl its way back and threaten at 91-95 on a Jhonard Clarito layup in the last 16 ticks.
But a costly second technical infraction called on Painters strategist Yeng Guiao and a miss quad attempt by Andrei Caracut proved their rally will fall short.
Caracut paced Rain or Shine with 16 points while Clarito, Adrian Nocum, Caelan Tiongson, and Gabe Norwood added 14, 13, 12, and 12 markers, respectively.
The Painters might have succeeded in pulling the rug from under the Hotshots in the Last Eight but TNT promptly showed its readiness to get past the semis for its Triple Crown dream.
