KEN Tuffin and the rest of Taranaki Mountainairs shook off the Franklin Bulls late to pull off a 99-90 victory and advance to the semifinals of the 2020 Sal's NBL Showdown Wednesday at The Trusts Arena in Auckland.
The Fil-Kiwi shooter from Far Eastern University shot 3-of-6 from downtown to finish with nine points and two rebounds in his 26 minutes of action.
"It was just a physical game. It's the playoffs so that's to be expected," said Tuffin, who seemed rocked with the level of physicality midway in the third quarter.
"I'm just happy that we came away with the win as a team and we're looking forward to tomorrow's game."
Marcel Jones powered Taranaki with his monster statline of 31 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks to arrange a knockout duel against the two-seed Manawatu Jets.
Mythical Team member Derone Raukawa was also stupendous with his 28 points, seven boards, and seven assists, as Tai Wynyard got 11 points and nine rebounds in the triumph.
"He's a really good point guard," Tuffin said of Raukawa. "It's really credit to him. We have a great team all around and we'll just continue to build on this."
Taranaki was holding a tight three-point lead, 88-85, with 3:48 left before Raukawa, Wynyard, and Shane Temara triggered a 5-0 spurt to take hold of a 93-85 advantage with 2:32 remaining.
Franklin still tried to roar back with buckets from Dominique Kelman-Poto and Everard Bartlett, but Jones, Raukawa, and Mitchell Dance cooly sank their freebies in the final minute.
It's a confidence-boosting win for the Mountainairs as they turn their attention to the Jets, which got the better of them in their two meetings in the elimination duel.
The knockout semis joust is on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. (Manila time).
"It's win or go home. We have to look after our bodies tonight, prepare for tomorrow, watch some scouting videos from the other team and we'll be ok," said Tuffin.
The Bulls banked on Kelman-Poto's 31-point, 10-rebound showing, while Isaac Davidson had 24 points in the exit.
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