ANTIPOLO – TNT bombed San Miguel from the three-point zone to take an all-important 116-98 win on Saturday night in the main game of the PBA Governors Cup.
The defending champions buried the Beermen with an avalanche of threes in the second half to pull away from a tight contest for good in a game played under a playoff atmosphere at the Ynares Center.
Roger Pogoy was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and veteran Jayson Castro a perfect 3-of-3 to propel the Tropang 5G to a 14-of-31 field goal from the same area and a high 45 percent shooting.
TNT’s second straight win for a 6-4 record in Group A assured them of a berth in the quarterfinals.
Pogoy finished with 21 points to lead the locals and back the game-high 23 points of import Nic Hornsby. Calvin Oftana added 18, Rey Nambatac chipped in 15 including 3-of-5 from downtown, while Castro had 13 for the reigning champs.
But more than their deadly outside shooting, coach Chot Reyes thought defense bailed TNT out of the woods against San Miguel.
"We held them to 33 points in the second half and that as crucial for us. We scored 60 points in the first half and we were still down," Reyes noted as TNT trailed San Miguel at the break, 60-65.
"So offense wasn't really our problem. It was our defense."
The Tropang 5G trailed, 73-75, at the six minute mark of the third quarter when Nambatac hit a three-pointer to spark a 20-8 run the rest of the period to take a 93-83 lead with them going to the final 12 minutes of the game.
TNT never relinquished the lead from there and dealt San Miguel its third loss in 10 outings. It also completed a two-game sweep of their head-to-head match-up in the eliminations as the Tropang 5G won their initial meeting, 93-89.
CJ Perez paced San Miguel with 21 points, import George King with 20, Marcia Lassiter was perfect from the-point range (3-of-3), and nine-time MVP June Mar Fajado added 14 points and 18 rebounds.
The scores
TNT 116 -- Hornsby 23, Pogoy 21, Oftana 18, Nambatac 15, Castro 13, Heading 12, Galinato 10, Quitevis 2, Khobuntin 2, Ambohot 0.
San Miguel 98 -- Perez 21, King 20, Lassiter 16, Fajardo 14, Cruz 9, Ross 6, Tautuaa 6, Trollano 3, Ahanmisi 3, Cahilig 0, Calma 0.
Quarters: 30-33; 60-65; 93-83; 116-98.
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