In TNT's most important match of the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup against Magnolia Sunday, May 5, the Tropang Giga leaned on the old reliables.
Kelly Williams does not really need to score in bunches to make an impact for talent-laden TNT.
At 42, Williams is mainly expected to grab some rebounds, set some good screens here and there, and play some defense for the Tropang Giga who are missing the services of injured big man Poy Erram.
But the former league MVP did more than that on Sunday, May 5, as TNT booked a trip to the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup quarterfinals with a 98-93 win over Magnolia.
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Williams was a little aggressive than usual on the offensive end in the early going to help set the tone for the Tropang Giga, before another veteran in Jayson Castro delivered the finishing blows.
Williams and Castro finished with 19 and 18 points, respectively, with the latter dropping 16 of his scoring total in the last 24 minutes of action at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
"That was the key (Williams and Castro) for all of us to be here. They're both a huge part of what we want to do," said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
The Tropang Giga nabbed the fourth spot and will figure in a best-of-three series against Rain or Shine.
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Jayson Castro comes up with the goods for TNT in its PBA Philippine Cup match against Magnolia. | Photo (c) PBA
But before securing this position, the Tropang Giga needed to survive a last-ditch effort by the Hotshots.
Magnolia, eager to secure its spot in the top six, slowly chipped away at an 80-65 deficit entering the fourth frame.
Mark Barroca, Aris Dionisio and Ian Sangalang conspired to move the Hotshots to as close as five, 98-93, with Barroca punctuating their fightback with a heave from the three-point area with 21.4 ticks remaining.
But the Hotshots could not pull anything up since then as they were relegated to sixth with a 6-5 record. Depending on the outcome of the Ginebra-NLEX match in the mainer today, Magnolia can even drop to seventh.
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Williams spiked his offensive output with eight boards and four assists while Castro also chipped in seven dimes.
Backing them up are Brian Heruela, Calvin Oftana and Jewel Ponferrada who combined for 35 points.
Meanwhile, Barroca paced the losing squad with 22 points. Sangalang registered 22 markers and seven rebounds while Dionisio shot three triples for 14 points.
The Scores:
TNT 98 – K.Williams 19, Castro 18, Heruela 13, Oftana 12, Ponferrada 10, Pogoy 7, Khobuntin 7, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Montalbo 4, Aurin 2, Galinato 2, Varilla 0
MAGNOLIA 93 – Barroca 22, Sangalang 21, Dionisio 14, Dela Rosa 9, Abueva 7, Jalalon 6, Balanza 5, Lee 3, Laput 2, Reavis 2, Tratter 2, Eriobu 0, Mendoza 0
Quarterscores: 16-14, 47-36, 80-65, 98-93