MANILA — Defending champion TNT Tropang 5G withstood a furious late rally by the Macau Giant Pandas to secure a 106-103 victory and kick off its PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup title defense on a winning note Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
TNT squandered an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter but made the crucial plays in the closing seconds to deny Macau’s comeback bid and preserve its opening-game triumph.
The Tropang 5G seized a 25-21 lead after the first quarter, stretched it to 52-48 at halftime, and widened the gap to 80-67 entering the final period before the Giant Pandas staged a spirited fightback.
Macau trimmed the deficit to 105-103 in the final seconds, but Rey Nambatac split a pair of free throws to restore a three-point cushion. The Giant Pandas then failed to force overtime as TNT escaped with the hard-earned win.
Nambatac and import Darius Days powered TNT with 23 points each, while Roger Pogoy added 21 markers and Glenn Khobuntin contributed 11.
“Obviously, you can’t be satisfied with an ending like that but at the same time we knew we were going to struggle,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said after the victory.
“Number one, kulang kami sa players. We’ve got three starters who are not playing. And number two, this is our first tuneup game. Hindi kami nakapag-tuneup in the off-season, eh, because we opted to rest, recover. So this is the first time we played with our import, Darius Days, in an actual game,” he added.
Import De’Vondre Perry erupted for 36 points to lead the Giant Pandas, while Damian Chongqui added 24. Ramon Cao and Kobey Lam chipped in 14 points apiece.
The victory gave TNT a successful start to its Governors’ Cup championship defense, while Macau remained winless through four games at 0-4./PN
