MANILA – TNT KaTropa recovered from an early deficit to beat the Alaska Aces, 104-93, in the 2019 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup do-or-die quarterfinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Terrence Jones flirted with 37 points, 22 rebounds and nine assists while Jeth Troy Rosario and Jayson Castro added 20 and 17 markers, respectively. The victory allowed the KaTropa to move on to the semifinals against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings.
Down by as much as 15 points in the opening half, the KaTropa started its move in the third period on three-point conversions from Rosario, Castro and Celedonio Trollano to come to within 79-81.
Both teams exchanged leads at the onset of the fourth quarter with the score tied at 87-all before the KaTropa came up with consecutive hits from Jones and Castro for a 93-87 edge.
The Aces were still hanging around at 90-95 with two minutes in the match when the KaTropa went on a finishing run after a triple by Jones and free throws from him for a 102-90 edge.
For the ousted Aces, Simon Enciso led the way with 24 points, including seven three-point conversions, while import Diamon Simpson had double-double 19 points and 16 rebounds.
In the first game, San Miguel Beermen leaned on clutch baskets by Chris McCullough to escape with a 90-88 victory over the No. 2-ranked and twice-to-beat NorthPort Batang Pier.
Trailing 87-88 with 30 seconds left, McCullough attacked the defense of Batang Pier to put the Beermen up, 89-88. He then split his freebies before forcing Batang Pier’s Robert Bolick Jr. to an awkward three-point attempt.
McCullough finished the match with double-double 31 points and 11 rebounds as the Beermen overhauled a twice-to-win disadvantage to barge to the semifinals against the winner of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters-Blackwater Elite series.
Marcio Lassiter contributed 11 points before exiting late in the second quarter due to a knee injury, while Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos have 10 points each for the Beermen./PN
