NA-OUTBALANCE si RR Pogoy ng TNT nang makipag-unahan sa rebound kay Norbert Torres ng Meralco sa kanilang laro sa PBA Philippine Cup kahapon sa Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Kuha ni RUDY ESPERAS
Mga laro sa Miyerkoles:
(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
4:30 p.m. – San Miguel vs Terrafirma
7:30 p.m. – Magnolia vs NorthPort
UMISKOR si Calvin Oftana ng 26 points, kabilang ang baskets sa end game, at pinutol ng TNT ang two-game losing skid makaraang dispatsahin ang Meralco, 92-90, sa PBA Philippine Cup kahapon sa Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Kumana si Oftana ng pitong puntos sa huling tatlong minuto ng laro upang pangunahan ang TNT sa ikatlong panalo sa anim na laro.
Kinailangan ng Tropang Giga na malusutan ang final moments kung saan nasupalpal ni Roger Pogoy ang lay-up ni Aaron Black. Sumablay si Jolo Mendoza sa three-pointer sa huling possession ng laro..
Naputol ang two-game winning streak ng Bolts at nahulog sa 3-4.
Mag-isang binigyan ni Oftana ang TNT ng kalamangan sa limang sunod na puntos, kabilang ang isang three-pointer para sa 89-87 bentahe. Isinalpak din niya ang isang lay-up, may 45.6 segundo ang nalalabi para sa 92-87 kalamangan.
Nagdagdag si Jayson Castro ng 15 points at 6 rebounds, habang umiskor sina Pogoy, Kelly Williams, at Henry Galinato ng tig- 11 points.
Higit pa sa points, pinuri ni TNT coach Chot Reyes ang pagsisikap ng kanyang tropa makaraang malasap ang mga pagkatalo sa NorthPort at San Miguel.
“The last game was really bad preparation on my end,” sabi ni Reyes. “We had a short postgame in the dugout (after the NorthPort game). I said it was mine. I thought the match-ups were all wrong and the preparation was all wrong and NorthPort took advantage. A lot could be said about the energy and the effort of our players but I think it starts from the coach.”
“Our problems were not the technical. Our problems are the intangibles. We left it at that. And today, I just asked the players how much they wanted, if they are willing to put in the effort and beat a great defensive team, physical team like Meralco. And apparently, the players responded,” dagdag pa ni Reyes.
Nag-ambag sina Black at Cliff Hodge ng tig-16 points para sa Meralco, na abante pa rin sa 87-84, may 3:21 ang nalalabi sa laro.
CLYDE MARIANO
Iskor:
TNT (92) – Oftana 26, Castro 15, Pogoy 11, K. Williams 11, Galinato 11, Khobuntin 8, Montalbo 5, Aurin 3, M. Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Varilla 0, Reyes 0, Heruela 0, Ponferada 0, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Meralco (90) – Black 16, Hodge 16, Maliksi 11, Banchero 10, Quinto 9, Newsome 8, Almazan 8, Pascual 5, Mendoza 2, Jose 2, Torres 2, Pasaol 1, Rios 0.
QS: 21-25; 49-40; 73-68; 92-90.
