THE manpower woes continued to plague TNT, but it didn't stop the Tropang 5G from beating Rain or Shine, 108-92, Wednesday to move one win away from a finals stint in the PBA Philippine Cup at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Jordan Heading played his best game yet in a TNT uniform with 23 points, and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 22 points and 11 rebounds, but the relievers' ample contributions proved equally crucial in the team's surge to a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven semifinals matchup.
The likes of Glenn Khobuntin, Poy Erram, Henry Galinato, Jr., Kim Aurin and Brian Heruela all stepped up when Kelly Williams joined the injured Roger Pogoy and Rey Nambatac on the sidelines due to a sprain and Calvin Oftana also rolled his ankle early in the fourth period.
Notwithstanding those mishaps the Tropa remain poised to close out the duel, advance to the championship round and keep their Grand Slam hopes going with another win in Game 5 on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Coach Chot Reyes is hoping his players can continue displaying their fiery brand of basketball, which started after they stared at a 41-47 halftime deficit and gained full steam the rest of the second half.
Sponsored content:
"That happened because we gave ourselves a lot of opportunity due to our stops. In the end, it was our defense that fueled our offense. As long as we're able to generate stops then we get a lot of possessions for ourselves to score," said Reyes.
"We made some adjustments at halftime to counter their defensive schemes. But I thought the real key was the emergence of Kim Aurin, Glenn Khobuntin and Poy Erram in the second half because the three of them were just terrible in the first half and we showed them the numbers," added Reyes.
"They were huge negatives, the three of them, in the first half. I thought that was the turning point."
Gabe Norwood delivered his best scoring game in quite a while with 18 points on top of nine rebounds to lead Rain or Shine, which also drew 16 points and seven assists from Andrei Caracut and 15 points from Caelan Tiongson and 12 from Adrian Nocum.
Yet the Elasto Painters failed to sustain their relatively fine start and started seeing the game slip from their grasp due to a 22-39 third quarter, when they went 5-of-21 from the field compared to the Tropa's 17-of-25 clip.
Sponsored content:
With Oftana and Heading on the bench, Khobuntin took it upon himself to lead the assault with 11 of his 16 points, with Aurin chipping in all seven of his points while Erram made his presence felt inside with four of his eight points, all five of his rebounds and both of his two blocks.
Even Brian Heruela, seeing action for the first time in the semis, did a bit of everything in helping TNT take an 80-69 lead into the fourth period before stretching the difference to as much as 95-76. (NC)
The Scores :
TNT 108 - Heading 23, Ganuelas-Rosser 22, Oftana 16, Khobuntin 16, Galinato 8, Erram 8, Aurin 7, Vosotros 6, Heruela 2, Nieto 0, Enciso 0, Williams 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 92 - Norwood 18, Caracut 16, Tiongson 15, Nocum 12, Santillan 9, Datu 7, Mamuyac 7, Clarito 4, Malonzo 2, Asistio 2.
QUARTERS: 22-28, 41-47, 80-69, 108-92
