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[av_heading heading=’Williams fuels Katropa to victory over Phoenix ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – Kelly Williams showed that he is back in winning form after leading the TNT Katropa to a 117-98 domination over the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the 2016-2017 Oppo PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Williams led the way with 18 points, 16 coming in the first half, for the Katropa, which moved up to second place in the standings at 3-2 to a tie with the Blackwater Elite.
This marks the 2008 PBA MVP Williams’ second consecutive big game for the Katropa following his 19 points production in their 98-87 defeat to sister team Meralco Bolts last week.
“For the past seven years, it’s been a test every day. I thank God I’m still able to play the game. It’s tough, there’s a lot of talent here. It’s been 10 years now,” said Williams, who was decimated by a blood ailment a few years ago.
With both teams trading baskets early in the match, Williams spearheaded Katropa’s run in the opening quarter with his inside hits to turn a 14-all score to a 28-22 advantage.
With Katropa holding on to a 42-24 advantage early in the second frame, Williams again rose to the occasion as he scored consecutive points from the paint to give the Katropa a 60-45 halftime lead.
Jayson Castro chipped in 18 markers, while Jeth Troy Rosario, Kris Rosales and Moala Tautuaa had 17, 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Katropa, which is being handled by rookie coach Nash Racela.
“It’s hard to play a team coming out of a blowout loss. So I told my players heading into this match that we need to match Phoenix’s intensity from start to finish to win,” Racela said.
Mark Borboran top-scored with 18 points, while rookie Matthew Wright added 17 markers for the Fuel Masters, which suffered its second straight defeat to slide down to a 2-3 slate./PN
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