TNT forces decider game after close victory against SMB

“Final: 93 – 88 in favor of the TNT KaTropa! Best Player: Jayson Castro with 19 points, 9 assists and 7/11 FGs #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

There will be a sudden death match between the Talk N’ Text (TNT) KaTropa and the San Miguel Beermen (SMB) after TNT reigned victorious for Game Two of their quarterfinal run in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, winning at 93-88 last Monday, April 8 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

For the winning TNT, it was RR Pogoy who was the highest pointer at 20 points, while Jayson Castro hit a total of 19 points. However, Troy Rosario was considered the hero of the match as he hit the game-winning three-pointer at the last 1:04 minutes of the fourth quarter that broke the 86-all tie. Rosario was the third-highest pointer and had a double-double at 15 points and 12 rebounds. On the other hand, previous Most Valuable Player (MVP) June Mar Fajardo had a total of 26 points and 19 points but had to sit out during the most crucial part of the game because of a forehead injury from Rosario’s elbow. Christian Standhardinger followed with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot and Terrence Romeo chipped 16 points and 12 points respectively.

TNT head coach Bong Ravena shared that he feels they are “just lucky to tie the series” and there is “nothing to celebrate,” saying, “We played harder than last time. Hopefully, the intensity and energy is the same or even more when we play on Wednesday,” referring to the scheduled Game Three at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on April 10. He applauded their opponents, adding, “San Miguel played really well, good thing we made our shots. Our outside shots went in, last time they didn’t,” concluding, “What we achieved tonight was our goal to stay in the series.” When looking forward to future adjustments, he believes, “We have to make it hard for [San Miguel] defensively. We have to stop Fajardo and we have to stop their shooters.”