FROM his catch of the throw-in, Jayson Castro took two dribbles to square himself up, then launched the game-winner at the buzzer.
With the refs declaring it a basket after a thorough review of the last-second play, the TNT Tropang Giga whooped it up, celebrating their 86-84 squeaker over the San Miguel Beermen in the opener of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
Castro beat the defense of Simon Enciso and the clock as the Tropang Giga took the cliffhanger of a win before a crowd of over 8,000, including Utah Jazz and Gilas Pilipinas star Jordan Clarkson.
Castro fouled up from the foul line early on but delivered when needed the most, preserving the exploits of RR Pogoy (26 points and including four three-pointers) and Mikey Williams (21 markers spiked by three treys).
Kelly Williams was 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-2 from the stripe but played a big part with his 38 minutes of tough defensive stance against San Miguel star behemoth June Mar Fajardo.
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In SMB's final possession, Williams forced Fajardo to kick the ball out to CJ Perez who threw a three-pointer that went air-ball, and the Beermen were called for a 24-second shot clock violation, giving TNT the last possession with 3.0 seconds to go.
"In the end, it's great that Jayson made the shot but it was better that we gave ourselves a chance when we forced San Miguel to a 24-second violation. That was the key," said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
With Castro beating the clock in the nick of time, the Tropang Giga gained the crucial 1-0 lead going to Game 2 Wednesday also at the Big Dome.
Game 1 was a thrilling come-from-behind win for the Tropang Giga who played catch-up basketball in the entire first half, trailing by as many as 15.
TNT came alive and surged ahead in the third period as Mikey Williams caught fire, rifling in 12 after bleeding for just six markers in the first 24 minutes of play.
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Then Williams, Castro, Pogoy and even Glenn Khobuntin joined forces to keep TNT afloat through the fourth.
Fajardo led the losing team with 24 markers and 16 boards, with Perez adding 21 points.
The Beermen were on the mark, converting 21 of 41 field shots in taking the first half at 49-37.
Fajardo led their early assault with a perfect 7-of-7 shooting as Jericho Cruz contributed off the bench, going 2-of-3 from the arc to highlight his eight-point first-half salvo.
Pogoy, firing 14 points, was the lone bright light for TNT in the first half as Castro, Williams and Poy Erram even combined for woeful 1-of-8 freebies.
Adding to the Tropa's woes were 13 turnovers as against the Beermen's seven.
But then came their second-half punch.(SB)
The Scores:
TNT 86 - Pogoy 26, M.Williams 21, Castro 15, Erram 9, Khobuntin 8, Reyes 6, Rosario 1, Montalbo 0, K.Williams 0, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
San Miguel 84 - Fajardo 24, Perez 21, Cruz 10, Tautuaa 6, Manuel 6, Lassiter 5, Brondial 4, Enciso 3, Ross 2.
Quarters: 16-21, 37-49, 70-64, 86-84
