MANILA – TNT KaTropa nearly lost a double-digit advantage before escaping with an 85-80 win over sister team NLEX Road Warriors in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Roger Pogoy top-scored with 20 points, Celedonio Trollano added 15 markers, while Brian Heruela and Ryan Reyes each had 11 markers for the KaTropa, which entered the win-column after three games.
From a seesaw battle in the first two periods, the KaTropa went on a run at the onset of third quarter behind Pogoy, Heruela and Jayson Castro to take a 69-57 lead heading into the fourth.
The KaTropa surged to its largest lead at 75-61 early in the fourth on a triple by Reyes but the Road Warriors rallied behind John Paul Erram to come to as close as 77-79 with over two minutes in the game.
The Road Warriors had a chance to tie but misfired their attempts before the KaTropa increased the lead to 82-77 on a booming triple by Pogoy. Erram cut the deficit to 80-82 with his own trey but free throws by Castro and Pogoy sealed the win for TNT.
Erram and Galanza both finished with 19 markers, while Philip Paniamogan added 10 points for the skidding Road Warriors, which lagged behind in the standings with 0-3 card.
In the first game, Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters gave Columbian Dyip a tough reality check after a 108-98 beat down for a 3-0 conference start, the best in franchise’s history.
The Fuel Masters opened the match with a 12-0 score and have never trailed since then. The lead went up to its largest at 40-21 in the second quarter behind the exploits of Matthew Wright and Calvin Abueva.
The Fuel Masters were only threatened early in the fourth when the Dyip cut the deficit to as low as 77-82 but the Phoenix managed to pull away for good with baskets from Wright and JC Intal.
Wright led the way with 22 points, including three triples, Abueva added 16 markers, while Jason Perkins had double-double 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Fuel Masters. Negrense rookie John Paul Calvo finished with 18 points for the Dyip (1-1)./PN
