Tropang 5G hold on vs Hotshots to force sudden death

MANILA, Philippines -- The TNT Tropang 5G’s season is still alive.
TNT stormed back from double digits down, lost a late seven-point lead but put up all the necessary stops to squeak past the Magnolia Hotshots, 89-88, in their PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals matchup Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The Tropang 5G thus dragged the twice-to-beat-wielding Magnolia to a sudden-death Game 2 set on Saturday.
RR Pogoy exploded for 30 points to go with two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Calvin Oftana chipped in 21 markers, 16 boards and five dimes.
With TNT leading by seven, 88-81, with about two minutes remaining after a layup by Oftana, Magnolia heated up from deep.
Rome dela Rosa first hit a huge 3-pointer, which was followed up by a Paul Lee 4-point shot to tie things up, 88-all.
In the next possession, Oftana missed layups that would have pushed their team to the lead. But the ball went to the hands of Kelly Williams, who hauled down a crucial offensive rebound and was fouled.
Williams then made the first and missed the second, which gave TNT the 89-88 lead.
With 2.9 seconds left, Magnolia went to Zav Lucero. He tried to shake off the defense of Pogoy, but Pogoy’s active hands poked the ball free. Lucero tried to hoist another one up, but failed to do so.
“Ano lang talaga, yung mindset ko lang coming to this game is ayoko lang magpatalo, ayoko magbakasyon,” Pogoy said after the game.
“Binabasa namin yung defense ng Magnolia kasi last time nga, ang dami naming turnovers, siguro yun yung turning point,” he added.
The Hotshots led by as much as 13 points, 50-37, early in the third quarter.
But TNT climbed out of the hole and eventually took the lead, 76-75, after a Pogoy triple.
The Tropang 5G then unleashed a 10-4 mini-run in the next minutes that pushed the lead to seven, 88-81, with 2:01 remaining, setting the stage for the cardiac finish.
Williams chipped in 12 markers and seven boards, while Jordan Heading and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had 10 points apiece.
Lee sparked Magnolia off the bench with 15 points, while Lucero and William Navarro contributed 14 each.
The two teams will battle it out for the semifinal berth on Saturday, 5 p.m., at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
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