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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, January 27, 2017
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Roger Pogoy of the TNT Katropa goes for the basket during their Oppo PBA Philippine Cup game against GlobalPort Batang Pier. RICHARD ESGUERRA / ABS-CBN SPORTS
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MANILA – TNT Katropa squandered a 21-point lead before hanging on to a 102-98 win over GlobalPort Batang Pier in the 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Rookie Roger Pogoy led the way with 20 points for the Katropa, which clinched a quarterfinals seat after moving up to a 6-4 win-loss slate to a tie with the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Moala Tautuaa chipped in with 18 markers, while Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams contributed 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the Katropa, which hopes to force a knockout for a twice-to-beat incentive with a win over San Miguel Beermen tomorrow.
From a tie at the end of the opening period on Wednesday night, both teams had an exchange of leads in the second frame until the Katropa surged to a 53-49 lead at the half on back-to-back triples by Kris Rosales.
The Katropa maintained its hot shooting in the third frame as it built a 74-59 advantage following conversions from Pogoy. Batang Pier, however, responded with a run to come to within 77-73 at the end of three quarters.
TNT regained its form in the fourth as it built its largest lead at 94-73 behind Castro and Pogoy. The Batang Pier responded with a run to come to within 100-98, but a crucial turnover followed by free throws by Troy Rosario sealed the win for Katropa.
“Wild game,” said Katropa head coach Nash Racela said. “We’re very inconsistent as a team. That’s what we’re trying to address. When you to go the playoffs with that mentality, its’ going to be a problem. Good thing we have time to address it.”
Terrence Romeo top-scored with a conference-high 35 points, while Mike Cortez and Stanley Pringle added 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Batang Pier, which slid down to a 5-5 slate./PN
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