By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Calvin Oftana regained his offense in the endgame as the TNT Tropang Giga pulled off a 92-90 escape over sister team the Meralco Bolts in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila on Sunday, April 7.
Down 84-87 with over three minutes left in the game, Oftana converted two free throws and a three-pointer to give the Tropang Giga an 89-87 lead before it was widened to 92-87 on a split free throw by Jayson Castro and a layup by Oftana.
The Bolts managed to cut the deficit to 90-92 on a three-point play by Kier John Quinto, and they still had a chance to snatch the victory, but rookie Jolo Mendoza missed on a wide-open three-point attempt.
Oftana top-scored for the Tropang Giga with 26 points, with 19 coming in the first two quarters, to go with nine rebounds as they snapped a two-game losing skid to improve to a 3-3 win-loss slate.
Castro chipped in 15 markers, Kelly Williams posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds, while Roger Pogoy and rookie Henry Galinato, Jr. ended with 11 points each for TNT.
Clifford Hodge and Aaron Black finished with 16 points apiece, while Allein Maliksi and Chris Banchero contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, as the Bolts dropped to a 3-4 record.
Meanwhile, the Terrafirma Dyip caught the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings flatfooted as they pulled off a massive 91-85 upset win, improving to a 4-3 win-loss slate.
The Gin Kings dropped to 3-3.
Javi Gomez de Liaño made a huge impact for the Dyip with 22 points, including three three-point conversions, to go with six rebounds and three blocks to be named Player of the Game.
Gomez de Liaño, who was originally drafted by the Gin Kings in 2022 before being shipped to the Dyip for Jeremiah Gray, said their strong second half head start was a key to complete their come-from-behind win.
“I think it is a collective effort by the team,” Gomez de Liaño said.
“Then, based on our history, we tend to lose our lead [against Ginebra] in the second half. So we make sure if sino ‘yung maglalaro sa start ng second half will make an impact already,” he added./ASC, WDJ
TNT 92 — Oftana 26, Castro 15, Pogoy 11, Williams 11, Galinato 11, Khobuntin 8, Montalbo 5, Aurin 3, M. Ganuelas-Rosser 2, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Varilla 0, Reyes 0, Heruela 0, Ponferrada 0.
MERALCO 90 — Black 16, Hodge 16, Maliksi 11, Banchero 10, Quinto 9, Newsome 8, Almazan 8, Pascual 5, Mendoza 2, Jose 2, Torres 2, Pasaol 1, Rios 0.
Quarterscores: 21-25, 49-40, 73-68, 92-90.