MANILA – TNT Tropang Giga ensured there will be no meltdown this time as they took Game 3 of the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals with an 88-67 rout of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Roger Pogoy was far cry from his 38-point outburst in Game 2 with just 18 points, on 8-of-25 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, six steals and four assists as the Tropang Giga trimmed their best-of-seven series deficit to 1-2.
Jeth Troy Rosario and Jayson Castro chipped in 15 markers apiece, Simon Enciso contributed 14 markers while John Paul Erram had double-double 12 points and 14 rebounds for TNT.
The Tropang Giga grabbed their first win in the finals despite the absence of star guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who missed his second consecutive game due to injury.
The Kings kicked off the match with a 17-8 advantage on early shots from LA Tenorio and Stanley Pringle. The Tropang Giga clawed to within 18-21 on hits by Erram and Anthony Washington, but a triple by Tenorio gave Ginebra a 26-21 edge.
TNT opened the second frame with a 11-0 blast behind Pogoy, Rosario and Enciso for a 32-26 edge. The lead blew to 44-34 at the half with baskets from Enciso and Castro.
The lead rose to 49-34 for Tropang Giga early in the third period with shots from Pogoy and Rosario, but the Kings went on a rally to trim the deficit to 54-56. However, triples by Castro, Washington and Ryan Reyes widened the advantage to 66-56.
The Tropang Giga went for the kill in the fourth quarter as triples by Erram and Castro increased the lead to 80-61 before erecting their largest lead at 88-66 on a triple by Enciso.
Tenorio finished the match with 19 points, including five triples, Japeth Aguilar added 15 markers and nine rebounds while Pringle was limited to just 11 markers for the Kings.
The Game 4 of the Tropang Giga-Kings best-of-seven finale is slated on Sunday, 6 p.m./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 88 – Pogoy 18, Rosario 15, Castro 15, Enciso 14, Erram 12, Washington 9, Reyes 5, Montalbo 0, De Leon 0, Semerad 0, Vosotros 0, Flores 0.
GINEBRA 67 – Tenorio 19, J. Aguilar 15, Pringle 11, Mariano 8, Thompson 8, Dela Cruz 3, Dillinger 2, Chan 1, Tolentino 0, Caperal 0, Devance 0, Balanza 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 21-26; Q2, 44-34; Q3, 66-56; Q4, 88-67./PN
