TNT started its PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup campaign with a 106-103 win over a woeful Macau side on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Calvin Oftana and Jayson Castro showed up in street clothes for TNT’s first game since losing Game Seven of the Commissioner's Cup title series to Barangay Ginebra, but the Tropang Giga simply cannot be denied.
READ A Ginebra in EASL? It will be a dream come true for CEO Kerins
Darius Days, Rey Nambatac, and RR Pogoy led the TNT attack while coach Chot Reyes gave his second- and third-stringers more minutes than usual against a Macau side that remained winless through four games.
The game, however, became a bit interesting in the endgame when Macau - aided by TNT errors and bad decisions - came storming back from as much as an 18-hole deficit to pull within two in the final seconds.
“Obviously, you can’t be satisfied with an ending like that,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said after his team was outscored in the fourth period, 36-26.
“But at the same time, we knew we were going to struggle. Number one, kulang kami sa players. We have three starters who are not playing, and number two, this is our first tune-up game. Ni hindi kami nakapag-tune-up in the offseason because we opted to rest and recover,” Reyes added.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Poy Erram also didn’t play due to injuries, while Kelly Williams went to the US to attend to a family matter.
TNT was already leading, 101-83, before Macau mounted the comeback, chopping the deficit to as low as 105-103 on two free throws by Damian Chongqui with four seconds left.
Nambatac missed one of two charities in the next possession, and Xucheng Liu threw up a desperate four that went nowhere near the goal to end the game.
Days had 23 points and six rebounds in his PBA debut, and Nambatac had 23 points and six assists for TNT.
Pogoy added 21 points including 10 in the fourth quarter, and knocked down four threes in the game.
De’Vondre Perry had 36 points and 10 rebounds, and Chongqui had 24 points and eight assists for the Giant Pandas.
The scores:
TNT 106 – Nambatac 23, Days 23, Pogoy 21, Khobuntin 11, Aurin 9, Quitevis 8, Galinato 4, Ferrer 3, Jalalon 2, Heading 2, Varilla 0, Enciso 0, Celzo 0.
Macau 103 – Perry 36, Chongqui 24, Cao 14, Lam 14, Ma 8, Z. Zhang 3, Chao 3, Y. Zhang 2, Liu 0, Zhu 0.
Quarters: 25-21; 52-48; 80-67; 106-103.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
