Jayson Castro and Terrence Romeo made key plays down the stretch to help TNT KaTropa escape with a tough 118-114 overtime squeaker over stubborn Columbian Dyip to snap its losing skid and gain some positivity in a thrilling battle of two ailing teams in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Castro capped his game-long brilliance by draining a critical trey with 2:22 remaining to give the Tropang Texters a vital 115-112 lead entering the twilight zone, something they will hold onto until the final horn.
In his full element, Castro errupted for a conference-high 25 points, including four triples, with seven assists to lead his squad, while Romeo finished with 22 markers.
Rashawn McCarthy had a chance to tie the game at the 1:06 mark of the extra period after Romeo was called for a technical foul due to a second motion, but he missed, allowing TNT to remain on the driver seat, 115-114.
Then, Romeo answered with a tough lay-up in traffic with 58 seconds remaining to extend the Texters’ lead to three, 117-114.
Columbian once again had an opportunity to tie or inch closer,but Akeem Wright, with Castro all over him, turned the ball over with 10.5 ticks left, giving TNT the ball back with its lead to work on.
A huge delay of game infraction cost the Dyip a lot as a technical foul was called and Castro drained an insuring free throw out of it with the same amount of time left, icing the win.
The Tropang Texters are now at 2-4 after breaking their losing streak to three.
On the other hand, the woeful Dyip remained without a win and fell to 0-5 after yet another loss to remain at the bottom.
Romeo had a good look at the end of regulation but his potential game-winning lay-up was a little too hard, keeping teams tied at 107-all and prompting the extension period.
Russel Escoto forced overtime after converting on an undergoal stab with 10.9 seconds left in the fourth to even the count.
TNT observed drastic changes as head coach Nash Racela was put on leave by the management after the team’s dismal start.
Assistant Eric Gonzales led the team as he was tasked to call the shots for the Texters.
The Texters responded well as they got early control by racing to a 24-10 lead right away to start the game following a 16-3 surge.
At the end of one, the Texters held on to a 40-26 advantage.
However, Columbian Dyip came back slowly but surely in the next quarters to make it a thrilling affair in the finish.
The Dyip was once again led by rising star Jerramy King, who scored a game-high 26 points.
Meanwhile, league-leading Alaska (3-0) faces a stiff test as it is going up against two-time defending champion Barangay Ginebra (1-0) at the moment.