TNT cruised to a 132-105 win over Phoenix Super LPG on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum to advance to the semifinals of the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup.
The Tropang GIGA finally broke away from the Fuel Masters in the second half on their way to the lopsided victory and a trip to the semifinals for the top-seed team.
READ: Guiao signed to ROS contract through to 2028
Roger Pogoy, Jayson Castro, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had their usual numbers but it was Glenn Khobuntin ho became an unsung hero for TNT, which will face either Meralco or Magnolia Chicken Timplados in the Final Four.
Phoenix gave TNT a fight in the opening half and trailed by just two points, 66-64, at the half only to be outscored in the third quarter, 34-19.
“There’s just a lot of frustrations in the first half. Probably, we were expecting too much from ourselves that Phoenix is a pushover. But they are not. When we couldn’t get the lead, we were frustrated,” said TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa.
“So at halftime, we just said we have to put our level of frustration down. We can’t play frustrated basketball. And that’s what we did,” said Lastimosa.
Pogoy added 25 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and four steals, while Castro had 20 points for TNT, which also got 18 points and 10 rebounds from Hollis-Jefferson.
It was Khobuntin who provided the spark in a rare start as he had 19 points and shot 5-of-10 from threes.
Du’Vaughn Maxwell tallied 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Jason Perkins had 21 points in Phoenix's final game of the season.
The scores:
TNT 132 – Pogoy 25, Castro 20, Khobuntin 19, Hollis-Jefferson 18, Oftana 15, M. Williams 14, Chua 6, Erram 6, Montalbo 3, K. Williams 2, Marcelo 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Varilla 0, Tungcab 0.
Phoenix Super LPG 105 – Maxwell 23, Perkins 21, Mocon 15, Serrano 9, Manganti 8, Jazul 8, Tio 7, Muyang 5, Lojera 3, Soyud 3, Alejandro 3, Lalata 0, Garcia 0, Adamos 0, Go 0, Camacho 0.
Quarters: 38-41; 64-66; 100-83; 132-105.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
