TNT denied Terrafirma a third straight win and reasserted its mastery over a familiar victim.
Veteran guard Jayson Castro swished in a couple of insurance free throws in the last 6.6 seconds and the Tropang Giga survived two tries of the Dyip to force overtime in a 100-97 escape in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Glenn Khobuntin made a crucial stop on Terrafirma’s last play, getting a slight contact on the ball enough to disrupt the trajectory of Juami Tiongson’s shot from the outside in TNT’s bounce-back victory for a 2-1 win-loss record tied with its victim.
The Tropang Giga continued to own the Dyip’s number, scoring their 17th straight against the same franchise in the last seven seasons.
The only difference this time was that Terrafirma gave TNT quite a scare after losing by an average of 30.25-point margin in their past four meetings dating back to the previous season.
“(Terrafirma) is very different. What we’re seeing in the league now, not only Terrafirma, but also Blackwater. You saw Phoenix last conference, NorthPort, they really stacked up. They made some very good picks in the draft and you’re seeing it now,” Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes said.
“We expected a tough game and that’s exactly what it was.”
Castro led TNT with 23 points including a 5-of-6 shooting from the outside and grabbed seven rebounds.
Calvin Oftana had a double-double of 19 points and 10 boards while Khobuntin got 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks including his biggest defensive stop in the ballgame that saw 16 lead changes.
Rookie Henry Galinato also provided quality minutes putting up a season-best 17 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes of play for TNT, which played sans injured key players Kelly Williams (calf) and RR Pogoy (groin).
Stephen Holt, the top overall pick of the last rookie draft, kept the Dyip in the game in the fourth quarter firing two triples in an 11-4 run that trimmed down their deficit to 95-96 with 1:47 left.
Terrafirma had a chance to retake the lead after Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser missed two free throws in the last 44.8 seconds, but the Dyip came out empty-handed after Aldrech Ramos bricked a three-point try and Tiongson missed a jumper in their second possession.
Castro then made two foul shots to add more breathing room for TNT.
Holt had 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists while Tiongson got 21 markers. Javi Gomez de Liano scored 18 and Isaac Go added 11 for Terrafirma.
TNT used a telling 13-0 run to overhaul a 37-41 deficit with less than five minutes in the second period into a nine-point lead heading into halftime.
Castro nailed a trey with 17 ticks left to cap the Tropang Giga’s huge offensive to create separation.
Khobuntin bannered the balanced scoring of the TNT in the first half with 10 points.
