One more chance

TNT Tropang 5G is not yet ready to surrender its throne.

Pushed to the limit by a gritty NLEX squad, the Tropang 5G dug deep into its wealth of experience to pull off a thrilling 96-93 escape to keeps its title-retention bid alive in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Bol Bol posted monster numbers of 34 points and 14 rebounds while Calvin Oftana added 19 markers and five rebounds, and Roger Pogoy chipped in 15 for the Tropang 5G, who are expected to go all out when they face the Road Warriors anew in a sudden-death showdown on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Should the Tropang 5G, who are seeded eighth, emerge victorious, they will punch a ticket to the best-of-seven semifinal series against the victor between No. 4 Meralco and No. 5 Magnolia, who are clashing in a quarterfinal encounter at press time.

Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes said they were happy with the win but could not afford to be complacent as they still needed one more victory to advance to the semifinals.

“I thought that we definitely had some lapses, but when it counted, we made the stops that were needed. Obviously, a big factor was that Bolick was not there in the endgame. But like I said, there’s a lot that we’re happy with in this win, but there’s also a lot we need to improve on if we want to get past them again in the next game,” Reyes said.

“I thought those were the preparations leading up not only to practice for this game, but even before that. We conditioned ourselves to be ready to beat someone twice.”

What made the victory sweeter for TNT was veteran guard Jayson Castro breaching the 10,000-point mark.

“Well, I think that’s a recognition that’s long overdue. I’m very proud of his journey,” Reyes said.

“Who would have known then that he would become part of that elite 10,000-point club? So more than the award, what I’m really proudest of is his journey — from that young guy who was just starting out with us all the way to the player he has evolved into now.”

A three-point play by Schonny Winston with 2:38 remaining in the fourth quarter sparked an 8-0 run as NLEX erased an 85-93 deficit to tie the game at 93-all.

Bol, however, came through in the clutch, sinking three free throws to seal the victory that extended the series to a sudden-death encounter.

Cady Lalanne delivered 17 points and 15 rebounds, while Bolick, shadowed by Pogoy all game long, had 15 points, but fouled out down the stretch for the Road Warriors, who have yet to win over the Tropang 5G in the playoffs.

The Road Warriors were ousted by the Tropang 5G in the quarterfinals of the Philippine Cup in 2015 before bowing anew in the quarterfinals of the previous Governors’ Cup.