TNT made short work of Blackwater, 113-96, and put one foot inside the Top 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup preliminaries on Friday night.
Calvin Oftana shot the lights out at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with a game-high 25 points spiked by six 3s and Roger Pogoy came back from a two-game injury layoff and finished with 18 points on a 4-of-6 shooting from three point range.
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The Tropang 5G stayed in solo third place with a 7-3 slate and remain on the right track for one of two twice-to-beat advantages still up for grabs.
“We talked about it after the result of the previous games of the other teams and we knew we have to win our last two games and to do that, we have to first win this game. That’s why we’re in full focus of playing defense because we know that on Sunday, our defense will be going to be tested battling a very talented, very deep, and well-coached Magnolia team,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
Magnolia will be TNT’s final game on Sunday, and a win over the Hotshots would formalize the team’s entry to the Top 4 for a quarterfinal bonus.
Big man Henry Galinato added 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser with 12 and eight boards, while Jordan Heading had 11 and was 3-of-7 from three point range, where TNT shot a high 40 percent (18-of-45).
The Tropang 5G held lead of as large as 88-62 late in the third period where Galinato scored 10 of his points.
Blackwater led just once, 2-0, before Oftana and Pogoy waxed hot and scored 12 and 11 to give TNT the push it needed and a 35-25 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Troy Malilin had a team-high 20 points for Blackwater, which lost for the 10th straight game and finished its conference at 1-11.
Sedric Barefield and Christian David contributed 13 each, while rookie James Una continued with his impressive showing for the Bossing with 12 points.
The scores
TNT (113) - Oftana 25, Pogoy 18, Galinato 14, Ganuelas-Rosser 12, Heading 11, Khobuntin 8, Aurin 8, Enciso 6, Jalalon 4, Ferrer 3, Nambatac 2, Hill 2, Williams 0, Nieto 0.
Blackwater (96) - Mallilin 20, Barefield 13, David 13, Una 12, Guinto 9, Dumont 9, Altamirano 8, Jopia 8, Mendoza 2, Zamar 2, Andrade 0.
Quarterscores: 35-25; 66-51; 92-67; 113-96.
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