TNT KaTropa rolled to its fifth straight win at the expense of Blackwater, 109-89, to stay alone atop the PBA Governors' Cup leaderboard on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Veteran Ranidel de Ocampo topscored for TNT with 20 points, while replacement import Mychal Ammons had 18 points and 18 rebounds in his debut.
Troy Rosario and Asian import Michel Madanly added 16 and 15, respectively.
Ammons, who took over from Mario Little, made his presence felt in the fourth period, where he dropped 10 points as KaTropa pulled away for good, 107-87, on the way to their fifth win in as many starts.
[See No end to Blackwater woes as Erram goes down with knee injury]
The onslaught started with a mini run in the opening minutes of the last quarter capped by back-to-back triples by Jayson Castro and Madanly, 93-80 at the 6:19 mark.
The Elite, who lost big man JP Erram in the second period and import Eric Dawson in the final minutes, failed to recover from there.
"Medyo rusty at the start. Were still trying to feel out Mychal. That's why we were struggling at the start," said TnT coach Jong Uichico.
Paced by Reil Cervantes' 22 points, Blackwater continued to struggle with a dismal 1-4 win-loss record.
Dawson had 13 markers and 10 rebounds before sitting out the fourth period due to back spasms, while Asian reinforcement Imad Qahwash shot a measly eight points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field.
The scores:
TNT KATROPA 109 - De Ocampo 20, Ammons 18, Rosario 16, Madanly 15, Fonacier 8, Castro 7, Rosales 6, Williams 6, Carey 5, Reyes 4, Rosser 2, Nuyles 2.
BLACKWATER 89 - Cervantes 22, Dawson 13, Lastimosa 12, Erram 9, Qahwash 8, Pascual 7, Dela Cruz 6, Gamalinda 6, Reyes 4, Sena 2, Canada 0, Cortez 0, Golla 0, Sumang 0.
Quarterscores: 21-22, 40-43, 74-71, 109-89
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