MANILA – Calvin Oftana was the difference maker for TNT Tropang Giga as they pulled off a 105-103 escape over San Miguel Beermen in a battle of powerhouse teams in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The Gilas Pilipinas mainstay was at the right place at the right time as he put back a missed attempt by teammate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to surge the Tropang Giga ahead at the buzzer.
Oftana finished with double-double 14 points and 10 rebounds for the now solo leader Tropang Giga (8-1), which were orphaned by the injuries of stars Roger Pogoy, Mikey Williams, John Paul Erram, Ryan Reyes and Frederick Tungcab.
Jayson Castro stepped up for TNT with 21 points, Hollis-Jefferson submitted 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, Kelly Williams had 16 markers, while Mikey contributed 11 before exiting in the second quarter with a sprained ankle.
Cameron Clark carried the load for the Beermen (7-2) with 30 points and 11 rebounds, Jaymar Perez added 25 markers, while June Mar Fajardo and Ilonggo Jericho Cruz had 12 and 11 points, respectively.
In the first game, defending champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings vented its ire on Blackwater Bossing with a lopsided 119-93 victory to snap their two-game losing skid and moved up to 4-2. The Bossing slumped to 1-7.
From being down 9-7 early in the contest, the Gin Kings turned things around behind inside hits by Christian Standhardinger and outside connections from Jamie Malonzo, Justin Brownlee and Stanley Pringle for a 37-18 lead.
The Bossing made a run to start the second quarter as they cut the deficit to 10 points but the Gin Kings pulled away anew with inside hits from Standhardinger as the lead reached its largest at 28 points in the second half.
Standhardinger led the way for the Gin Kings with 27 points, with 21 coming in the first half, Malonzo hoisted six triples en route to 25 markers, Brownlee had double-double 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Earl Scottie Thompson contributed 11 markers.
On Saturday night, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters (2-5) scored a 125-100 rout of Terrafirma Dyip (2-5), while NLEX Road Warriors (5-2) hacked out a come-from-behind 116-112 win over Converge FiberXers (5-2)./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 105 – Castro 21, Hollis-Jefferson 19, K. Williams 16, Oftana 14, M. Williams 11, Chua 8, Khobuntin 8, Varilla 4, Montalbo 4.
SAN MIGUEL 103 – Clark 30, Perez 25, Fajardo 12, Cruz 11, Manuel 8, Tautuaa 6, Enciso 5, Lassiter 4, Bulanadi 3, Ross 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 24-20, 49-48, 83-77, 105-103.
