By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA – Calvin Oftana regained his offense in the endgame as TNT Tropang Giga pulled off a 92-90 escape over sister team Meralco Bolts in the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila.
Down 84-87 with over three minutes left in the game, Oftana converted two free throws and a three-pointer to give the Tropang Giga an 89-87 lead before it was widened to 92-87 on a split free throw by Jayson Castro and a layup by Oftana.
The Bolts managed to cut the deficit to 90-92 on a three-point play by Kier John Quinto and they still had a chance to snatch the victory, but rookie Jolo Mendoza missed on a wide-open three-point attempt.
Oftana top-scored for the Tropang Giga with 26 points, with 19 coming in the first two quarters, to go with nine rebounds as they snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to 3-3 win-loss slate.
Castro chipped in 15 markers, Kelly Williams posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Roger Pogoy and rookie Henry Galinato Jr. ended with 11 points each for TNT.
Clifford Hodge and Aaron Black finished with 16 points apiece, while Allein Maliksi and Chris Banchero contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Bolts dropped to 3-4 record.
On Saturday night, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (3-4) leaned on a huge fourth quarter run to prevail over Blackwater Bossing (3-3), 110-103, extending their winning streak to three games.
Trailing for most part of the game, the Painters slowly clawed their way back to tie the score at 92-all before taking a 96-92 lead on back-to-back connections from Jhonard Clarito and Leonard Santillan.
The Bossing tried to keep the match close, but timely conversions from Andrei Caracut, Beau Belga, Gian Mamuyac, and Santillan to establish a 110-103 lead with under a minute left.
Santillan top-scored for the Painters with 28 points, including three three-point conversions, Belga added 21 markers, while Clarito and Caracut contributed 16 and 12, respectively./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 92 – Oftana 26, Castro 15, Pogoy 11, Williams 11, Galinato 11, Khobuntin 8, Montalbo 5, Aurin 3, M. Ganuelas-Rosser 2, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Varilla 0, Reyes 0, Heruela 0, Ponferrada 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.
Quarterscores: 21-25, 49-40, 73-68, 92-90.
