TNT stepped on the gas in the payoff period to pull away from a tight game en route to a 116-99 victory over Rain or Shine and the crucial 1-0 head start in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinals showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
Calvin Oftana, RR Pogoy and Kelly Williams all had prolific outings, fuelling their fourth-quarter breakaway on the way to the brink of the semifinals.
Coach Chot Reyes' troops, living up to their higher seeding and hitting at a 40-percent three-point clip to highlight their explosive game, can wrap the series up in Game 2 Sunday over at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Elasto Painters, on the other hand, need to win two in a row to salvage the series.
Oftana was the TNT lead gun, firing away a game-high 32 points with 5-of-9 three-pointers plus nine rebounds and two assists.
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Williams also connected on a 5-of-9 clip from the rainbow area and logged a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Pogoy was a third TNT guy who hit Rain or Shine hard, coming through with 26 points, five assists and two rebounds.
Jayson Castro, Jewel Ponferrada and Kib Montalbo had their own three-point conversions, contributing to TNT's hot night that Rain or Shine could stand just through the first three quarters.
The Tropang Giga actually opened double-digit lead right away at 10-0 then faced the Elasto Painters' challenge in the middle quarters before winning the battle on a 31-20 tear in the fourth.
The two teams figured in a shootout in the first three periods, with the E-Painters also bombing away 15 three-pointers.
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But the E-Painters just hit at a lower shooting percentage.
Overall, the Tropang Giga shot 51 percent from the field as against the Elasto Painters' 39.
Santi Santillan (with 23), Mark Borboran (13), Andrei Caracut (11), Keith Datu (11) and Jhonard Clarito (10) delivered double-digit outputs for ROS. Down from their usual numbers were Beau Belga and Adrian Nocum.
Averaging 17 points before the game, Belga struggled for just five in this game. (SB)
The Scores:.
TNT 116 - Oftana 32, Pogoy 26, K.Williams 19, Castro 11, Khobuntin 8, B.Ganuelas-Rosser 8, Aurin 4, Montalbo 3, Ponferrada 3, Heruela 2, Varilla 0, Galinato 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 99 - Santillan 23, Borboran 13, Datu 11, Caracut 11, Clarito 10, Ildefonso 8, Nocum 7, Demusis 6, Belga 5, Mamuyac 4, Asistio 1, Norwood 0.
QUARTERS: 26-24, 53-52, 85-79, 116-99
