PBA: TNT flattens Terrafirma, gets back on track

Henry Galinato made his presence felt as TNT squeaked past erstwhile unbeaten Terrafirma, 100-97, in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup on Saturday, March 9.

 Galinato put up career-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (11) for the Tropang Giga, whose woeful free throw shooting in the later stages almost cost them the match as the Dyip played catch-up from eight points down.

But it was Calvin Oftana and Jayson Castro who delivered the finishing blows as TNT recovered from a setback against unikely pacesetter Blackwater and improved to a 2-1 record.

Terrafirma, winner in its first two matches against Converge and NLEX, saw its promising start halted as it joined its conqueror in a four-way logjam at third along with NLEX and NorthPort.

[ALSO READ: PBA: Remember the last time the Terrafirma franchise made the playoffs?]

After the Tropang Giga posted a 92-84 spread on a trey by Glenn Khobuntin with 4:53 to go in the fourth, the squad was dragged to a tight battle as Terrafirma repeatedly tried to close in. 

In that span, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser muffed four freebies, the first two when the Dyip inched within three, 89-92, and when TNT was holding on to a precarious 98-97 lead with 44.8 ticks remaining in the game.

Fortunately for the Tropang Giga, opportunities slipped the hands of the Dyip as Aldrech Ramos flubbed an open three-pointer while Juami Tiongson also bungled his jumper from there.

Castro, whose hot hands accounted for five of TNT's 12 three-pointers, made up for Ganuelas-Rosser's sorry misses from the line as he sank two of his freebies, with 6.6 ticks left in the match.

TNT then employed great defensive plays down the stretch as it made Javi Gomez de Liano and Juami Tiongson take tough shots in the dying seconds to hand the Dyip their first loss.

Castro only missed one of his six attempts from beyond the arc on his way to finishing with 23 points while Oftana scattered 19, six of which in the last four minutes. Khobuntin also came up with 19 points, including two triples in the payoff period, for the Tropang Giga.

“Like I said, Terrafirma is getting better. Stephen Holt is finding his place,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes, who shared that he was trying to recruit Holt a decade ago for the Gilas program.

"What we are seeing in the league now, not only with Terrafirma but Blackwater as well. We saw Phoenix last conference, NorthPort. They made very good picks in the draft and we are seeing it now with the way Stephen Holt plays, Christian David, NorthPort has Cade Flores and Zav Lucero. They are all showing up now. That's making them a lot more competitive. Our discussion before the game is we know these teams are going to make it difficult for us. We had to prepare long and hard for them. We expected a tough game and that's exactly what it was."

Holt came up with another sensational outing with 24 points on four triples, the last of which he made with 1:47 left in the clock to keep the Dyip afloat, 96-95. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists, but his all-around effort went for naught. 

Tiongson and Javi Gomez de Liano added 21 and 18 markers, respectively.

The Scores:

TNT 100 – Castro 23, Khobuntin 19, Oftana 19, Galinato 17, Ganuelas-Rosser B. 11, Aurin 4, Montalbo 4, Heruela 3, Ebona 0, Varilla 0, Reyes 0, Ganuelas-Rosser M. 0, Ponferrada 0.

TERRAFIRMA 97 – Holt 24, Tiongson 21, Gomez de Liano 18, Go 11, Alolino 9, Ramos 5, Sangalang 5, Carino 2, Camson 2, Olivario 0, Cahilig 0, Calvo 0.

 Quarterscores: 23-21, 50-41, 73-69, 100-97