Ageless Kelly Williams did it again.
Down one point in the waning seconds of the do-or-die quarterfinals, the veteran forward swished in two big go-ahead free throws as TNT held on for an 80-79 upset win over third-seeded Magnolia to advance into the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Williams grabbed the offensive board off a wayward four-point attempt by Jordan Heading and was fouled by Rafi Reavis on his putback attempt with 2.7 seconds left.
Calvin Oftana then sealed the second straight victory over the twice-to-beat Hotshots by tapping the inbound pass away from Ian Sangalang as time expired, keeping the Tropang 5G’s grand slam dream alive.
It was the 43-year-old Williams’ second straight endgame heroics after a marginal split from the foul line in the last six seconds of TNT’s 89-88 Game 1 escape last Wednesday.
“We’re lucky Kelly made those two free throws. If it went to overtime, I don’t know if we could have lasted an extra five minutes. Like I said, we lacked the manpower,” TNT head coach Chot Reyes said.
“But the spirit of the players, their unwillingness to give up I think was the key here,” he added.
The Tropang 5G will play the survivor between Rain or Shine and NLEX, teams playing as of press time, in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Facing off in the other semis series are top-seeded San Miguel Beer and No. 4 Barangay Ginebra.
RR Pogoy finished with 18 points and seven rebounds while Oftana added 18 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals for TNT.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 12 points while Williams finished with a double-double of 10 points including an all-important 2-for-2 from the charity stripes and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of action for the Tropang 5G.
TNT looked gassed in the fourth quarter, going scoreless for almost five minutes, which Magnolia capitalized on to spark a telling run for a 75-74 lead with 1:59 left in the game.
Both teams traded baskets with Sangalang giving Magnolia a 79-78 lead with 5.8 seconds left off an inside pass from Jerom Lastimosa for an unmolested layup.
Heading almost cost the game with an ill-advised four-pointer. Williams was there for the putback but was pushed from behind by Reavis for the game-winning free throws.
Reyes breathed a sigh of relief after Oftana tapped the ball away in the Hotshots’ last play.
“Believe it or not, I kind of expecting it because we were running on fumes. We have a very short rotation because the guy who played very well the last time (Brian) Heruela was out and Jordan Heading couldn’t even walk. He didn’t even practice in the last two days. He was a game-time decision,” the mentor said.