It boiled down to the last rebound play, and the TNT Tropang Giga pulled through with Calvin Oftana snaring the offensive carom then making the game-winning basket at the buzzer.
Following a missed attack by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Oftana was there to beat Rodney Brondial and CJ Perez in a the critical rebound battle and converted a follow-up as TNT scored a 105-103 nail-biter over San Miguel Beer Sunday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The Tropang Giga stretched their streak to six games and thus gaining the solo lead in the PBA Governors' Cup with an 8-1 win-loss slate while sending the Beermen down to second at 7-2.
Both teams now shift their focus on their coming EASL Champions Week stints in Japan. They resume their PBA campaigns in the last two play dates of the Governors' Cup elims by mid-March.
The Tropang Giga gained ground on their erstwhile co-leader Beermen with their brave stand in this match minus their top two shooters in RR Pogoy and Mikey Williams.
Sponsored content: Williams was playing well, having collected 11 points, three rebounds and one assist when he suffered an ankle sprain with two minutes to go in the second quarter.
He was helped by his teammates to the bench and failed to return in the nerve-wracking match where neither team led by more than eight points.
Minus Pogoy and Williams, the Tropa went to Jayson Castro, Kelly Williams, Hollis-Jefferson and Oftana as they stayed in the fight, even enjoying a six-point lead, 83-77, at the end of the third.
The Beermen pounced on successive turnovers by the Tropa to draw level at 83-all at the start of the fourth, and the two teams engaged in a toe-to-toe battle up to the end.
San Miguel tied the game for the last time at 103 on a three-point play by Cameron Clark off Oftana with time down to 13.1 seconds.
Sponsored content: Then came the classic ending where Oftana outfoxed two SMB rivals in a rebound play then scored the game-winner at the buzzer.
The former San Beda star finished with double-double numbers with 14 points and 10 rebounds that went with six assists in an extended play.
Castro topscored for the team with 21 while Hollis-Jefferson piled up 19 markers, 14 boards and seven dish-offs.
Clark led all scorers with 30 plus 11 rebounds and four assists as Perez, June Mar Fajardo and Jericho Cruz contributed 25, 12 and 10, respectively.
Fajardo was out of play for the Beermen in the final 13 seconds as he was substituted by Brondial. (SB)
The Scores:
TNT 105 - Castro 21, Hollis-Jefferson 19, K.Williams 16, Oftana 14, M.Williams 11, Chua 8, Khobuntin 8, Varilla 4, Montalbo 4.
SAN MIGUEL 103 - Clark 30, Perez 25, Fajardo 12, Cruz 10, Manuel 8, Tautuaa 6, Enciso 5, Lassiter 4, Bualandi 3, Brondial 0, Ross 0, Brondial 0.
QUARTERS: 24-20, 49-48, 83-77, 105-103.
