TNT barely survived the upset-conscious Macau Black Knights, 119-112, and as it got back on the winning track in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang 5G were on the ropes for the most part and didn’t secure the victory until Jordan Heading nailed two free throws in the final 23 seconds and Damian Chongqui missed a potential go-ahead four-point shot for the eight-man Black Knights.
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Two days after a 97-92 loss to Converge, the reigning champions improved to 6-3 (win-loss) for solo third place and inside the Top Four in the single-round eliminations.
At 1-8, the Black Knights became the first team to be eliminated in the mid-season conference.
Coach Chot Reyes could only heave a sigh of relief after the team pulled off another win by the skin of its teeth.
“In the end, a win is a win. But the other teams had a pretty easy time against this team (Macau) and we had to grind it out basically in the final minute,” said the champion mentor.
Bol Manute Bol had another big game for TNT with 37 points, 14 rebounds, and six block shots and was backed by Heading (20 points), Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (17), and Calvin Oftana, who had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, along with four assists.
Still, the Tropang 5G found its 108-98 lead trimmed to 113-112 with 26 seconds left after the 5-foot-9 Chongqui drove past the 7-foot-3 Bol.
Chonqui finished with a conference-high of 29 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter.
“Players like Chongqui are really a tough match-up for us because we don’t have a Jio Jalalon whose job that is,” stressed Reyes, pointing to the pesky, veteran guard who recently underwent surgery to address his chronic sciatica.
Macau was led by Phoenix Shackelford with 31 points, while import Tony Mitchell finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds.
The scores:
TNT (119) - Bol 37, Heading 20, Ganuelas-Rosser 17, Oftana 16, Galinato 8, Castro 8, Aurin 7, Khobuntin 3, Enciso 3, Nambatac 0, Ferrer 0, Williams 0, Nava 0.
Macau (112) - Shackelford 31, Chongqui 29, Mitchell 19, Lao 13, Cao 9, Leung 7, Lu 4, Chen 0
Quarterscores: 24-25; 50-48; 88-85; 119-112.
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