TNT paraded a brand-new line-up, and not with Jordan Heading on the roster.
The Tropang 5G gifted Almond Vosotros and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser a win in their return to the lineup, hammering shorthanded NorthPort, 94-70, on Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
TNT stretched its winning streak to five games to improve to 5-3 while waiting for the official approval of a pending trade with Converge where the Tropang 5G will receive Heading in exchange for Mikey Williams.
NorthPort dropped to 1-7 after its seventh straight loss on the same day an announcement from Korea bared that its star player Arvin Tolentino has signed with the Seoul SK Knights.
READ Seoul SK Knights sign Arvin Tolentino as Asian import
The loss, which came just two days after NorthPort traded rising star William Navarro to Magnolia for Calvin Abueva, Jerrick Balanza, and a future second-round pick, also ousted the Batang Pier as well as Blackwater from quarterfinal contention.
Abueva didn't play in the game against TNT.
Calvin Oftana had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Tropang 5G, who got solid contributions from Vosotros and Ganuelas-Rosser.
Vosotros had 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting from threes in his comeback to the Tropang 5G after being released by the squad before the start of the conference.
Ganuelas-Rosser returned to the active roster after recovering from an ACL injury, finishing with five points and eight rebounds.
Joshua Munzon had a game-high 20 points while also collecting four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks for the Batang Pier. But he was the only Batang Pier in double digits as the team was held to its lowest points made this conference.
The scores:
TNT 94 – Oftana 15, Pogoy 13, Vosotros 12, Erram 11, Williams 11, Enciso 11, Aurin 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Khobuntin 4, Heruela 4, Ebona 1, Varilla 0, Payawal 0, Exciminiano 0.
NorthPort 70 – Munzon 20, Flores 9, Balanza 9, Cuntapay 7, Jalalon 5, Bulanadi 5, Yu 4, Onwubere 4, Nelle 3, Kwekuteye 2, Nava 2, Taha 0.
Quarters: 20-18; 52-32; 70-49; 94-70.
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