MANILA – TNT KaTropa turned things around in the second half and defeated Meralco Bolts, 101-97, in Game 3 of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Trailing by as much as 13 points in the opening half, the KaTropa started its run in the third period behind KJ McDaniels, Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, and Rodel de Leon for a 77-71 KaTropa edge.
The KaTropa widened the lead to 82-71 early in the fourth period but a counter rally by the Bolts behind import Allen Durham allowed them to cut the deficit to 86-87.
The Bolts even took a 91-90 edge after a triple by Chris Newsome. Jeth Troy Rosario and McDaniels, however, countered with hits to give the KaTropa a 96-94 edge.
Meralco took the lead for the last time at 97-96 on another Newsome trey. For this, TNT came up with baskets from Castro and McDaniels and another Castro free throw to clinch the win.
Rosario finished with 25 points, build on five triples, while McDaniels and Castro added 18 and 17 markers as the KaTropa took a 2-1 edge in best-of-three semifinals series.
For the Bolts, Durham led the way with 32 points, while Newsome and Baser Amer chipped in 20 and 19 markers, respectively./PN
