Mikey Williams and the rest of TNT turned on the switch in the second half as they completed their comeback from 18 points down and pulled off a 105-100 victory in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo Friday evening.
Williams bucked a slow start, then ended up the match hitting six three-point shots, including the dagger trey in the closing seconds to finally put away the Elasto Painters and send the Tropang Giga to their second straight win where they join early leaders Converge and Meralco, all of them carrying a 2-0 slate.
The scoring champion last season and a former Finals Most Valuable Player, Williams paced the Tropang Giga with 24 points, 16 of them happened in the second half, while also pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out seven assists in a complete all-around performance.
TNT could only come up with 36 points at halftime and in fact trailed, 47-29, but the team exploded for 44 in the third period to make a game out of it.
In the end, the Tropang Giga showed their championship experience and the young Elasto Painters wilted under pressure.
The Scores:
TNT 105 – Hudson 24, M.Williams 24, Pogoy 22, K.Williams 13, Chua 8, Castro 7, Tungcab 5, Khobuntin 2, Varilla 0, Montalbo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0
RAIN OR SHINE 100 – Qualls 35, Nambatac 17, Torres 13, Asistio 10, Belga 7, Demusis 4, Caracut 3, Norwood 3, Borboran 2, Ildefonso 2, Ponferrada 2, Yap 2, Nieto 0
QUARTERS: 17-20, 36-49, 80-84, 105-100
