By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – Kelly Williams had a throwback scoring game as TNT Tropang Giga moved closer to a repeat with a 102-93 triumph over San Miguel Beermen in Game 5 of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After being dealt a huge blow with the injury of Jayson Castro, Williams along with Mikey Williams and Bacolodnon Kib Montalbo unloaded four straight triples to surge to an 84-75 lead.
TNT went to build a 90-79 lead following an inside shot by Williams but the Beermen got back-to-back hits from Ilonggo Jericho Cruz and June Mar Fajardo to cut it to 93-100 but Kelly answered with a trey to make it a double-digit spread.
The Beermen made its last push at 91-95 on consecutive points by Moala Tautuaa but a dunk by John Paul Erram and another Kelly trifecta secured the victory for the Tropang Giga.
Kelly finished the game with 21 points, including four outside conversions, to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Tropang Giga move on the cusp of title repeat with its 3-2 series lead.
The one-time PBA MVP’s scoring surge as his most in a PBA playoffs game since drilling 23 points in Tropang Giga’s loss to Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
Mikey led the defending champions with 23 points, including six three-point connections, while Erram and Pogoy chipped in 17 and 14 markers, respectively.
Castro ended with just eight markers for the TNT after twisting his ankle in an awkward landing from the defense of Beermen’s Marcio Lassiter in the third canto. He did not return to the game since then.
The Tropang Giga actually had a slow start as they trailed in the opening quarter at 21-16 but baskets from Castro and Erram cut the deficit to 24-25 before Lassiter scored on a three-point play for a 28-24 SMB lead.
The Tropang Giga flipped the switch in the second canto on inside baskets from Kelly and Erram for a 46-39 edge but a late Beermen surge cut TNT’s lead to 53-50 at the half.
Fajardo ended with double-double 20 points and 16 rebounds, Cruz and Tautuaa chipped in 16 and 12 points, respectively, while Jaymar Perez and Vic Manuel had 10 points each for the Beermen.
BOX SCORE:
TNT 102 –M. Williams 23, K. Williams 21, Erram 17, Castro 8, Rosario 6, Pogoy 5, Khobuntin 4, Marcelo 4, Montalbo 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 2.
SAN MIGUEL 93 – Fajardo 20, Cruz 16, Tautuaa 12, Perez 10, Manuel 10, Ross 9, Enciso 6, Brondial 6, Lassiter 4.
Quarterscores: 24-28, 53-50, 84-75, 102-93./PN
