-
-
-
SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
-
-
-
-
04
-
18
-
2024
-
SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
18
2024
PBA IMAGES
Troy Rosario rivaled the stinging heat outside and went on a three-point blaze inside Cuneta Astrodome to carry Tropang TNT to a 106-99 victory over Alaska in Game 1 of their best-of-3 quarterfinals series in the 2016 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday.
Smoking hot from three-point land, the second overall pick in the 2015 PBA Draft torched the Aces, firing a career-high 31 points on a 7-of-10 shooting from threes to go with his seven rebounds.
“It’s good that we made big shots, Troy made big shots in the end game, and we made crucial stops,” said coach Jong Uichico.
David Simon added 24 markers and 14 boards, while Jayson Castro had a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists.
It was a sorry defeat for Calvin Abueva, who almost single-handedly carried his team anew, fighting back from 15 points down, 57-42, and paved the way for a nip-and-tuck battle in the final six minutes of the game. He finished with 18 points eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
“Sometimes, you don’t know what’s happening in the game. You think you’re in control of the game and all of a sudden, Alaska comes back. You make a mistake here and there, Alaska comes back and dictates the tempo of the game,” said Uichico.
Jayson Castro nailed a booming trey in the final 1:44 and made Sonny Thoss pay dearly for his muffed hook shot on the other end, racing down the court for a fastbreak before Rosario scored on a putback and-one to push his team up for good, 102-97 with 59.1 seconds left in the clock.
“For us to win the next game, we have to be able to dictate that tempo. You can’t discount Alaska kasi di ka makarelax cause they’ll keep on playing the same game all throughout,” said Uichico.
Game 2 is on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rob Dozier led Alaska with 22 markers and six rebounds, while Ping Exciminiano got 11 in the defeat.
The scores:
TNT 106 – Rosario 31, Simon 24, Castro 17, De Ocampo 13, Ababou 6, Williams 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Tautuaa 4, Carey 2, Fonacier 0, J. Reyes 0, R. Reyes 0.
ALASKA 99 – Dozier 22, Abueva 18, Exciminiano 11, Banchero 10, Thoss 8, Jazul 7, Manuel 6, Baclao 4, Hontiveros 4, Dela Cruz 3, Menk 3, Dela Rosa 2, Baguio 1, Racal 0.
Quarters: 27-27, 57-44, 81-72, 106-99.
Follow Us
Other Stories:
Recent Stories:
Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines.