TNT, ROS reach semis

MANILA, Philippines — TNT kept its grand slam drive rolling with a quarterfinal twin kill over Magnolia, the last franchise to achieve a PBA golden treble in 2014.

Showing the heart of a true champion in another do-or-die, the sixth-seeded Tropang 5G edged the No. 3 Hotshots, 80-79, to clinch a ticket to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Battle-scarred Kelly Williams, typifying the grit and heart of the champion team that never flinched amid adversity, made a key offensive rebound and two free throws in the last 2.7 seconds to restore the one-point cushion for TNT.

The reigning Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup titlists then disrupted Magnolia’s final offensive to secure this hard-earned followup to Wednesday’s 89-88 thriller that set up last night’s sudden death.

The Tropang 5G will continue their hunt against No. 7 Rain or Shine in the best-of-seven dispute for a finals seat beginning Wednesday.

The Elasto Painters followed the lead of TNT and turned back twice-to-beat No. 2 NLEX for a second time, 103-92, en route to their fourth straight semis appearance. ROS used a 25-15 closing barrage to repeat its initial 92-89 win and complete the upset.

Set to lock horns in the other F4 series are top seed San Miguel Beer and No. 4 Barangay Ginebra, which made short work of No. 8 Meralco (108-97) and No. 5 Converge (88-80), respectively, last Friday.

“Palaging sinasabi ni coach (Chot Reyes), kung ano ‘yung opportunity sa harap natin huwag natin sayangan,” said RR Pogoy after TNT overcame the absence of ace guards Jayson Castro, Rey Nambatac and Bryan Heruela due to injuries and the back issues that continue to bother Jordan Heading in pulling through.

“Hindi lang sa basketball, sa buhay din, minsan ‘yung opportunity, hindi bumabalik sa iyo. So ayun, hindi namin sinasayang kahit kailangan namin talunin ng dalawang beses ‘yong Magnolia.”

After Magnolia wiped out TNT’s 14-point lead and seized a 79-78 upperhand, Williams stepped forward to save the day.

The 43-year-old Fil-Am retrieved the ball after Heading’s missed four-pointer while drawing a foul from Rafi Reavis. Williams calmly knocked down the charities.

“I was just telling the players to just hold on…Just defend as well as much as we can because I knew we didn’t have the legs anymore towards the end game. And we’re lucky Kelly made those two free throws,” said Reyes.