TNT came through in the clutch to avoid another stunning loss to Converge, 98-91, on Sunday in the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium
Jayson Castro nailed a three-pointer with 1:09 left in the fourth for a 96-91 lead, dousing another late Converge rally and helping TNT avenge its first-round loss to the FiberXers.
TNT led by as many as 21 points on the way to its fifth win in six games - good for a share of the lead in Group A with sister team Meralco.
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Unlike in the first round where it lost a 16-point deficit on a four-pointer by Scotty Hopson, the Tropang Giga were able to protect the big lead until the end.
“The header in our board was one word – learn,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes. “We said that this game for us was an opportunity to learn from what happened in the last game that we played Converge.”
“And that’s exactly what we talked about at halftime. We said we’ve been here before, this was the exact same situation we were in the last game. Up big at the half, and we allowed Converge to stick around win the game in the end.”
Castro finished with 14 points, none bigger than his three in response to a left-handed lay-up by Schonny Winston to cut TNT's lead to 93-91 with 1:29 remaining. TNT padded the lead on a follow-up by Calvin Oftana with only 28.3 seconds left.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 21 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists, while Rey Nambatac bounced back from his six-point effort in their first-round encounter by pouring in 17.
Oftana, playing major minutes after missing the previous game against Terrafirma due to a bruised hip, had 14 points and nine boards.
Converge fell behind 60-39, forcing it to play catch-up the rest of the way. The FiberXers have now lost three in a row to go down to 2-4, their previous win in the aforementioned first-round tussle against the Tropang Giga.
“We talked about how well we had to defend in the second half. But give it to them (Converge), they made good adjustments in the second half and like we expected, they got back in the ballgame. When they made the run, all we were talking about in the huddle is we expect this,” said Reyes.
Justin Arana had 16 points in his comeback but re-aggravated his ankle sprain early in the fourth. Winston had 15 points and 13 rebounds for the FiberXers.
Hopson shot just 6-of-17 from the field and scored 13 points for Converge.
The scores:
TNT 98 – Hollis-Jefferson 21, Nambatac 17, Castro 14, Oftana 14, Pogoy 12, Aurin 5, Payawal 5, Erram 5, Khobuntin 3, Heruela 2.
Converge 91 – Arana 16, Stockton 15, Winston 15, Hopson 13, Ambohot 12, Delos Santos 8, Santos 7, Cabagnot 4, Racal 1, Vigan-Fleming 0, Nieto 0, Andrade 0.
Quarters: 36-18; 58-39; 78-67; 98-91.
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