Castro comes up clutch as TNT downs Alaska for first win

MANILA, Philippines — The TNT Tropang Giga took their first win of the PBA Governor's Cup after turning back the Alaska Aces, 81-77, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday.

Jayson Castro registered a clutch performance off of the bench to guide TNT to the win after losing their conference opener.

After trailing by as much as 11 points, the Philippine Cup champions slowly chipped away at the lead.

RR Pogoy hit a free throw with 10:32 ticks left to give TNT its first lead of the game, 65-64.

Alaska got it back quickly though and TNT needed seven minutes more to get back on top and stay there.

Glenn Khobuntin hit a floater to give TNT the advantage, 75-73.

Castro then padded it with a triple shortly after.

The 35-year-old also hit a crucial free throw with just seven seconds left to give TNT a two-possession lead, 81-77.

Castro finished with a team-high 20 points in 36 minutes of action from the bench.

Khobuntin was also a spark off of the bench with 16 markers.

The Aces were led by Oluseyi Ashaolu with 29 points and 18 rebounds.

Ashaolu didn't have too much support from his teammates, though, as it was only Jeron Teng who also finished in twin-digit scoring with 13 markers.