Texters top Painters in morale-boosting win
MANILA, Philippines — TNT is going into the next round with a big boost after a 100-85 beatdown of the league-leading Rain or Shine during the culmination of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Burly big man Joshua Smith tallied the biggest scoring output with 25 points. Troy Rosario and Ryan Ryes both chimed in double-digit production to help the KaTropa latch on the third spot of the quarterfinals.
“Not perfect, but we just hope it prepares us for the next round,” TNT head coach Nash Racela said when asked if he was pleased with the momentum-building win of his team.
“To me, it doesn’t mean anything,” he said of securing the third place in the playoffs. "This is just better than where we were in the last conference. We were eighth.”
The Elasto Painters, already afforded of a twice-to-beat incentive in the playoffs, just saw their six-game win streak end as their first-round campaign came to a close.
Rain or Shine’s — who was paced by import Reggie Johnson and his 12 markers — led by five points early in the opening salvo. But that’s the only time they had control of the game as they wound up trailing by as many as 22 points.
Racela and his wards will face the sixth-seeded team, which will be determined by the game currently played by the San Miguel Beer and sister team Magnolia Hotshots. They take on either the Beermen or the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings.
TNT moves to the next phase with an 8-3 win-loss record. ROS, on the other hand, finished with 9-2.
The Scores
TNT (100): Smith 25, Rosario 19, Reyes 12, Williams 9, Pogoy 8, Semerad 6, Trollano 6, Cruz 5, Garcia 4, Paredes 4, Romeo 2, Tamsi 0, Golla 0
RAIN OR SHINE (85): Johnson 12, Tiu 11, Ahanmisi 10, Yap 10, Belga 9, Almazan 9, Nambatac 8, Onwubere 6, Daquioag 5, Torres 3, Maiquez 2, Borboran 0, Washington, Ponferada 0, Norwood 0, Casiño 0
Quarter scores: 24-20, 47-39, 76-58, 100-85
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