TNT, Phoenix in showdown

Two hungry dogs will battle for the right to vie for the juiciest bone of all in one of two PBA Philippine Cup best-of-five semifinal series starting at the AUF gym tomorrow. It’ll be a dogfight for sure as Phoenix has never made it to the Last Dance since entering the league in the 2015-16 Commissioner’s Cup.

It’s been a long title drought for TNT which has captured seven titles but not since the 2014-15 Commissioner’s Cup so the wait has extended to 13 straight conferences. Phoenix booked its first-ever Final Four ticket in the Philippine Cup last season but didn’t advance beyond the semifinals, bowing to eventual champion San Miguel Beer in five games of a best-of-seven series.

Now, TNT and Phoenix are three wins away from barging into the best-of-seven finals. Phoenix finished the elims with an 8-3 record, tying Ginebra for first place but settling for second via the quotient system. TNT wound up in a five-way tie for third at 7-4 and ranked No. 3. The Super LPG Fuel Masters and Tropang Giga enjoyed a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals with neither team needing a rematch to move to the semis. Phoenix ousted Magnolia, 89-88 while TNT scuttled Alaska, 104-83.

Fans are expecting a shootout as Phoenix finished No. 2 and TNT No. 3 in offense in the elims. The Fuel Masters averaged 100.5 points and TNT, 98.6. They’re bannered by two of the league’s most explosive gunslingers. Phoenix’ Matthew Wright is averaging 23.6 points and has posted four games with over 30. TNT’s R. R. Pogoy is hitting at a 20.1 clip with three games of at least 30. In the quarters, Pogoy erupted for 34 and Wright fired 32 so their guns are well-calibrated for the semis. Wright said it’ll be a shootout but didn’t discount a drag-out defensive war. After all, both teams held their opponents to less than 90 in the quarters.

Pogoy said rebounding, limiting turnovers and containing Wright are critical for TNT to win. Wright said a key for Phoenix is to hold down Jayson Castro who hasn’t started a single game this conference but remains Giga’s ultimate go-to guy. In the elims, Castro averaged 18.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and a team-high 5.1 assists. Phoenix’ Calvin Abueva said now that he’s back, it’ll be a different story from when Giga beat the Fuel Masters, 110-91, in the elims. TNT was +28 paint points, +15 rebounds, +12 field goal attempts and +7 fastbreak points with seven players in twin digit points compared to only two Fuel Masters who played without Abueva and Alex Mallari.

Abueva said the coaching staff will decide matchups and defensive schemes but he realizes it will take a collective effort to limit TNT. Regarding a possible matchup against RayRay Parks, Abueva said their previous misunderstanding is now a thing of the past, that it’s time to move on and just buckle down to basketball business.