MANILA – Kelly Williams had a vintage performance as TNT Tropang Giga scored a come-from-behind 108-101 victory over Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila.
The one-time PBA MVP winner finished with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds to go with two assists and two steals as the Tropang Giga moved up to 5-4 in the standings.
“At halftime, it was me checking on my ego, checking what I can do to help the team because that’s what coach told me to do, to help the team in whatever way,” Williams said.
Roger Pogoy spearheaded the offense for the Tropang Giga with 23 points, Calvin Oftana added 19 markers, while Kim Aurin and Glenn Khobuntin contributed 12 and 11, respectively.
Down by as much as 23 points in the first half, the Tropang Giga leaned on a 42-point explosion in the third quarter behind Pogoy, Oftana, Aurin, and Williams to take an 84-81 lead.
The Fuel Masters still took the lead for the last time at 85-84 early in the fourth quarter before the Tropang Giga completely took control of the game behind connections from Williams, Pogoy, and Oftana for their biggest lead at 105-93.
Tropang Giga head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes said they managed to turn things around in the second half by believing that they are still not of the woods despite being down by as much as 23 points.
“The most important thing that happened during the halftime is to let them know that we haven’t give up yet, the most important thing is to let the players believe that we are still in this ball game,” said Reyes.
“We narrowed our focus by taking away their three-point shot (in the second half) because they were killing us on all fronts in the first half, and we adjusted our defense,” he added.
Jason Perkins finished with a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds, Rodolfo Alejandro Jr. added 16 markers, while Kenneth Tuffin, Ricci Rivero, and Kent Salado had 13, 11, and 10, respectively, as the Fuel Masters dropped to 3-6./PN
BOX SCORE:
TNT 108 – Pogoy 23, Oftana 19, Williams 17, Aurin 12, Khobuntin 11, Castro 7, B. Ganuelas-Rosser 7, Montalbo 4, Heruela 3, Ponferrada 2, Reyes 2, Galinato 0, M. Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Ebona 0.
PHOENIX 101 – Perkins 26, Alejandro 16, Tuffin 13, Rivero 11, Salado 10, Jazul 8, Muyang 4, Mocon 4, Garcia 3, Daves 3, Soyud 2, Lalata 1, Verano 0, Camacho 0.
Quarterscores: 22-29, 42-62, 84-81, 108-101.
