Cebuano guard RR Pogoy, seen here taking a shot over Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio in their April 23 game, was one of the five TNT KaTropa players who scored in double figures in their 119-110 win over the Alaska Aces last night in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup in Legazpi City.
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KaTropa rally in endgame to down sputtering Alaska Aces, 119-110
Games Today
(Mall of Asia Arena)
4:30 p.m. – Mahindra vs Phoenix Petroleum
6:45 p.m. – San Miguel Beer vs Barangay Ginebra
With a whirlwind finish to a high-scoring game, TNT KaTropa rallied to put Alaska away, 119-110, and stay in the upper half of the playoff draw of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup while pushing the Aces’ backs to the wall at Ibalong Centrum for Recreation gym in Legazpi City.
Jason Castro and new import Joshua Smith kept the Texters within striking distance before Ranidel de Ocampo finished off the Aces in the stretch of the Petron Saturday Special match with a chunk of his 15 points as TNT rose to 7-3.
The win also allowed the Texters to stay mathematically in the hunt for a top two finish – and a twice-to-beat privilege – but more importantly, it assured them of avoiding a bottom tier finish that would put them at a great disadvantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Alaska led by as large as 13 points in the third and had a 105-101 lead before De Ocampo caught fire as the Aces slumped to a fourth straight defeat in a 4-4 card.
The Aces are now thrust in a position to sweep their final three games to earn a level playing field in the quarterfinals, with anything less than that exposing them to the possibility of missing the next round altogether.
Smith, a wide body tapped to replace the prolific Donte Greene, had 23 points and 10 rebounds in a debut limited to just over 20 minutes because of foul trouble.
Castro finished with 20 with fellow national RR Pogoy shooting 12 and RR Garcia accounting for 13 coming off the bench.
Corey Jefferson scattered 29 points in leading the Aces.
THE SCORES
TNT KATROPA (119) – Smith 23, Castro 20, De Ocampo 15, Garcia 13, Pogoy 12, Tautuaa 8, Rosario 7, Williams 6, Semerad 5, Reyes 5, Rosales 5, Carey 0.
ALASKA (110) – Jefferson 29, Manuel 17, Casio 16, Abueva 11, Enciso 9, Pascual 8, Thoss 6, Exciminiano 4, Mendoza 4, Banchero 4, Hontiveros 2, Dela Cruz 0, Racal 0, Cruz 0, Galliguez 0, Andrada 0.Quarters: 23-36, 56-57, 88-95, 119-110.