Phoenix thought it already had the win in the bag when it erected a 23-point lead in the second quarter.
Talk ‘N Text bulldozed it down in nine minutes in the third period and turned it into an exciting ballgame.
The Tropang Giga unleashed a third quarter storm to stun the Fuel Masters in a remarkable 108-101 comeback to move within the cusp of a quarterfinals seat in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
TNT clawed its way out of a deep hole after outscoring Phoenix, 42-19, in the third period before completing the come-from-behind victory to move up to a 5-4 win-loss record.
“The most important thing at halftime was to make sure that we felt that we hadn’t given up yet. That’s the most important thing, to make sure the players were at the belief that we’re still in the ball game despite being down 20,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said.
RR Pogoy finished with 23 points on 7-of-13 field goal shooting and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Tropang Giga. Calvin Oftana added 19 markers and nine boards while veteran Kelly Williams had a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds for TNT.
Williams also did a great job limiting Jason Perkins to just five points in the second half after doing much damage in the first half.
TNT also shut down Phoenix’s outside shooting to just two in the second half after making 10 in the first.
“And we just narrowed our focus down to taking away their three-point shots because they were killing us on all fronts in the first half. They were making their threes, they were getting penetrations, and they were getting free throws. They were getting everything that they wanted,” Reyes said.
“We said, OK if we’re gonna focus on one thing in the second half let’s focus on shutting down their three-point shooting, we adjusted our defense to take it away.”
The Tropang Giga had some precarious moments after building a 107-97 lead in the last 1:02 when the Fuel Masters chopped it into just six after Jayjay Alejandro sank a layup with 32 seconds left.
Down by 20 entering the second half, the Tropang Giga came out of the dugout with guns loaded as they erased their deficit and turned it into a 76-75 lead courtesy of a three-pointer from Kim Aurin with 3:07 left.
TNT and Phoenix traded baskets in the following series of possessions before the Tropang Giga went up 84-81 heading into the payoff period.
Ryan Reyes put it away for TNT with a split from the line.
Phoenix had a fiery first half, scoring in bunches to build a significant separation that even ballooned to 23 after Jayjay Alejandro drilled a trey for a 62-39 count with 29 seconds left.
The Fuel Masters entered halftime holding a 62-42 advantage built from a 48.6 percent shooting from the field in the first two quarters.
Phoenix absorbed its sixth loss in nine starts and was pushed to the brink of missing the quarterfinals bus ride.
Perkins finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Alejandro had 16 while Ken Tuffin and Ricci Rivero made 13 and 11, respectively, for the Fuel Masters.
Kent Salado added 10 markers, seven assists and six boards for Phoenix.
Box scores:
TNT (108) – Pogoy 23, Oftana 19, Williams 17, Aurin 12, Khobuntin 11, Castro 7, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 7, Montalbo 4, Heruela 3, Ponferrada 2, Reyes 2, Galinato 0, M.Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Ebona 0
PHOENIX (101) – Perkins 26, Alejandro 16, Tuffin 13, Rivero 11, Salado 10, Jasul 8, Muyang 4, Mocon 4, Garcia 3, Daves 3, Soyud 2, Lalata 1, Verano 0, Camacho 0
Quarters: 22-29, 42-62, 84-81, 108-101
