A driving layup from Jayson Castro and two charities from Mac Alejandro saved the defending champion TNT Tropang Giga from what could have been another humiliating upset on Sunday in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Their heroics propped the Tropang Giga to a face-saving 86-83 triumph over newbie Converge Fibr Xers, 86-83, sending them to their second triumph in three outings.
Coach Chot Reyes heaved a sigh of relief after Castro outran his defender and sank the putback in the last 2.6 seconds to hand back the upperhand to the Tropang Giga for the ninth and final time, 84-83.
The Fiber Xers missed their second winning chance after Ben Adamos turned the ball over on a bad pass, and Alejandro converted two charities off Maverick Ahanmisi’s foul.
Castro went on to lead the Tropang Giga with 17 points.
His heroics came after RK Ilagan missed a big chance to win the game for the Fiber Xers.
“Ironically, we were fortunate that they missed their free throws, and we pulled off a double, thanks to this guy beside me,” said Reyes, who was with Castro when he talked about the Tropang Giga’s big win.
Ilagan, whose big plays on Friday allowed Converge to turn back the Magnolia Timplados Hotshots, 89-82, only had two points as he put the Fiber Xers ahead in the final 22.9 seconds, 83-82.
But Ilagan missed two freebies after getting fouled in the 9.3-second mark by Kelly Williams, allowing the Tropang Giga to turn the tables on Converge.
Mike Tolomia finished with 17 points for the Fiber Xers, who fell to their second loss in three matches.The win also allowed the Tropang Giga to bounce back after bowing to the Blackwater Elite Bossing, 78-85, last Thursday.
TNT faces the NLEX Road Warriors, while Converge (1-2) takes on the Meralco Bolts on Thursday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The scores:
TNT 86 – Castro 17, Khobuntin 15, Rosario 13, Pogoy 12, Alejandro 10, Erram 9, Reyes 6, K. Williams 4, Heruela 0, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Converge 83 – Tolomia 17, Racal 15, Ahanmisi 15, Arana 9, Teng 8, Hill 4, Ambohot 5, Adamos 2, DiGregorio 2, Bulanadi 2, Murrell 2, Ilagan 2.
Quarters: 24-12, 40-36, 63-57, 86-83.