BACK IN BUSINESS: TNT crushes Phoenix by 36

BACK IN BUSINESS: TNT crushes Phoenix by 36 | Daily Tribune

TNT head coach Chot Reyes wanted his wards to return into character following a stunning loss that snapped a six-game winning streak.

The Tropang Giga responded with a hurricane of a game as they devastated hapless Phoenix, 106-70, to formalize their entry to the quarterfinals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

It was all over but the shouting when Calvin Payawal scored his lone basket of the ballgame at garbage time which pushed TNT’s margin to 40 points, 96-56, with 6:02 left in the game as the squad improved to a 7-3 win-loss record tied with Meralco and Hong Kong Eastern.

Fueled by the desire to rebound from a stunning upset, 108-117, at the hands of cellar-dweller Terrafirma last Wednesday, the Tropang Giga locked in defensively limiting the also-ran Fuel Masters to under 100 points.

“We talked about this before the last game, it’s really hard to play teams that have nothing to lose. You saw how Terrafirma played in the last game. They were playing freely, they were hitting all the shots and I take full responsibility because I failed to prepare the players enough for a situation like that. So, the disappointing part was our defense was non-existent in the last game,” Reyes said.

“That was all we talked about yesterday at practice. We wanted to make sure that we go back to who we are the way we play defense.”

TNT limited Phoenix to just 37.8 percent shooting from the field and forced 23 turnovers which it converted to 26 turnover points for a dominating wire-to-wire victory.

Fifteen of the 16 players Reyes fielded in the blowout contributed points with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson scoring 15 on top of 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks while RR Pogoy added 12 markers.

Kim Aurin and Calvin Oftana finished with 11 points each for the Tropang, Giga, who boosted their chances of bagging a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.

“Last game we were selfish and we were not helping each other. Now we try to look who needs help, we try to cover them especially on the help side,” said Pogoy, who had six rebounds and three assists.

“Coach Chot reminded us that if we want to win, we should play defense.”

The game was a tight in the opening period with TNT protecting a slim, 24-21, lead.

It was all Tropang Giga from there.

TNT held Phoenix to just 49 points in the last three periods while stepping on the gas on offense to regain its lost confidence after allowing Terrafirma to notch its first and only victory in the mid-season conference.

The Fuel Masters were sent packing after yet another fruitless campaign. Phoenix ended its run with a 3-9 slate.

Tyler Tio had 14 points, Donovan Smith finished with 11 points and 15 boards while Kai Ballungay got 11 points for the Fuel Masters.

The scores:

TNT (106) — Hollis-Jefferson 15, Pogoy 12, Oftana 11, Aurin 11, Nambatac 8, Williams 8, Galinato 8, Castro 6, heruela 6, Razon 6, Ebona 4, Khobuntin 4, Exciminiano 3, Payawal 2, Erram 2, Varilla 0.

PHOENIX (70) — Tio 14, Smith 11, Ballungay 11, Manganti 7, Tuffin 6, Jazul 5, Perkins 5, Muyang 2, Garcia 2, Alejandro 1, Rivero 0, Salado 0, Verano 0, Daves 0, Camacho 0.

Quarters: 24-21, 49-35, 78-50, 106-70.