ANTIPOLO – Even with the outcome all but decided, Kelly Williams saw an opening, soared, and caught a feed from Kris Rosales before finishing the alley-oop with a thunderous slam.
That showed how harmonious TNT Katropa’s offense was all-game long as it walloped Phoenix, 134-109, on Sunday night at the Ynares Center to register in the win column of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Buoyed by the return of Jayson Castro, the Texters flashed the potential when they’re at full strength as they broke the game wide open in the third quarter to coast to the victory that negated their loss to Meralco last Friday.
Castro orchestrated the TNT offensive with aplomb, dishing out 14 assists along with 10 points to finish as one of a remarkable eight Texters, led by import Lou Amundson, in double-figure scoring to hand the Fuel Masters their second straight blowout loss.
Phoenix dropped to a 1-2 win-loss record, with their first win coming when the prolific Eugene Phelps was still its import.
“We were just fortunate to have Jayson back,” TNT coach Nash Racela said. “The goal is to learn to play without him. We know we can’t always have him, especially with his Gilas stint.”
“All of the guys contributed,” he added. “Our import played really well.”
Amundson made the most of probably his farewell game before Donte Green takes his import spot as he registered 20 points, eight boards, two blocks, one assist, and one steal in 30 minutes.
Stretch forwards Ranidel de Ocampo and Troy Rosario added 18 points apiece, while young guns Roger Pogoy and Mo Tautuaa contributed 17 and 14 markers, respectively.
Williams chipped in 12 points, while Ryan Reyes was the other player in twin digits with 10 markers for a Texters side that led by as many as 35 points and dished out 38 assists as a unit.
Jameel Mckay proved again he’s more than just a defensive demon as the Phoenix import reached the 30-point plateau for the second straight game, tallying a game-high 31 points on top of 11 boards, four blocks, one steal, and one assist with less than three minutes of rest that went for naught.
The scores:
TNT 134 – Amundson 20, De Ocampo 18, Rosario 18, Pogoy 17, Tautuaa 14, Williams 12, Castro 10, Reyes 10, Carey 6, Fonacier 3, Hernandez 3, Rosales 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Tamsi 0.
PHOENIX 109 – McKay 31, Baguio 17, Dehesa 12, Kramer 12, Jazul 11, Intal 8, Viernes 6, Miranda 5, W. Wilson 5, Alolino 2, Borboran 0, Torres 0, J. Wilson 0, Wright 0
Quarterscores: 31-30, 59-48, 100-75, 134-109