MANILA: Ranged against the highest-scoring import in the PBA Governors’ Cup, TNT KaTropa showed Phoenix Petroleum that its strengths lie in numbers.
Michael Madanly dropped 30 points and led four other Texters in twin digits on Friday night as TNT dismantled the Fuel Masters and their one-man scoring machine, Eugene Phelps, 124-117, to remain unbeaten in the season-closing conference at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Madanly, the Texters’ Asian import, hit a total of eight triples, with three of them coming in the breakaway third quarter as TNT snapped the Fuel Masters’ two-game winning streak and stretched its sizzling run to six games to pad its lead on the field.
The Texters gained more ground later in the night after GlobalPort won for the second straight game, taking down defending champion San Miguel Beer, 98-92.
GlobalPort, after opening up with four straight defeats, improved to 2-4 as the Batang Pier put the Beermen into a tie for second spot with Barangay Ginebra and Mahindra at 4-2, giving the Texters some leeway in the standings in the race for No. 1.
Phelps, who came into the game averaging 37.5 points built around a 52-point debut three weeks ago, still came away with 49 despite a consistent TNT double team.
But the TNT defense shut down his supporting cast, with the veteran Cyrus Baguio held down to just five markers.
“We know that they can score, that’s why we needed to come into the second half with a defensive mindset,” TNT coach Jong Uichico told reporters.
Red-hot shooting in the second half complemented that defensive mindset with Madanly leading the way, as the Texters dropped a total of 19 triples on the dumbfounded Phoenix defense.
“We made shots to break the game wide open,” Uichico said of the third quarter explosion that saw the Texters drop 36 points to peel away from a 52-all halftime game and take a 20-point lead into the fourth period.
Uichico threw everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to stop Phelps.
He had little success.
But the depth of the Texters ultimately came to fore, with Mychal Ammons, in just his second game after replacing the injured Mario Little, scattered 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to provide the solid inside presence TNT needs.
Ranidel de Ocampo tossed in 17 points and rookie Kris Rosales added 13.
Jason Castro was the fifth man in twin digits for Uichico with 11 and dished out a night-high eight assists.
Meanwhile, Robert Jaworski Sr., the former Ginebra San Miguel leader and Senator, was one of the first big names that attended the first day of Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan’s wake on Friday at the Ateneo Chapel in Quezon City.
Jaworski, who played for Dalupan at University of the East in the early part of the Red Warriors’ seven-year reign as UAAP champions, said that Philippine basketball lost “it’s greatest coach and a remarkable gentleman.”
Dalupan, the winner of 15 PBA championships, including the first Grand Slam I 1976 with defunct Crispa, passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 92. The league will come up with a “final buzzer” salute to the departed coach on Sunday with other greats like Allan Caidic, Philip Cezar and Atoy Co, just some of the superstars he handled, to attend the ceremonies.
Stanley Pringle scored 25 points and Terrence Romeo capped an 18-point night with four late points to put the game away for the Batang Pier, who put themselves solidly back in the playoff hunt with the win.
Arizona Reid scored 41 points to lead the Beermen, though he was seen arguing with some members of the team during timeouts in the dying minutes.
June Mar Fajardo scored 21 and Marcio Lassiter 15 for the Beermen, who also saw an end to their three-game winning streak. San Miguel’s other loss came at the hands of Mahindra more than a month ago.
Michael Madanly dropped 30 points and led four other Texters in twin digits on Friday night as TNT dismantled the Fuel Masters and their one-man scoring machine, Eugene Phelps, 124-117, to remain unbeaten in the season-closing conference at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Madanly, the Texters’ Asian import, hit a total of eight triples, with three of them coming in the breakaway third quarter as TNT snapped the Fuel Masters’ two-game winning streak and stretched its sizzling run to six games to pad its lead on the field.
The Texters gained more ground later in the night after GlobalPort won for the second straight game, taking down defending champion San Miguel Beer, 98-92.
GlobalPort, after opening up with four straight defeats, improved to 2-4 as the Batang Pier put the Beermen into a tie for second spot with Barangay Ginebra and Mahindra at 4-2, giving the Texters some leeway in the standings in the race for No. 1.
Phelps, who came into the game averaging 37.5 points built around a 52-point debut three weeks ago, still came away with 49 despite a consistent TNT double team.
But the TNT defense shut down his supporting cast, with the veteran Cyrus Baguio held down to just five markers.
“We know that they can score, that’s why we needed to come into the second half with a defensive mindset,” TNT coach Jong Uichico told reporters.
Red-hot shooting in the second half complemented that defensive mindset with Madanly leading the way, as the Texters dropped a total of 19 triples on the dumbfounded Phoenix defense.
“We made shots to break the game wide open,” Uichico said of the third quarter explosion that saw the Texters drop 36 points to peel away from a 52-all halftime game and take a 20-point lead into the fourth period.
Uichico threw everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to stop Phelps.
He had little success.
But the depth of the Texters ultimately came to fore, with Mychal Ammons, in just his second game after replacing the injured Mario Little, scattered 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds to provide the solid inside presence TNT needs.
Ranidel de Ocampo tossed in 17 points and rookie Kris Rosales added 13.
Jason Castro was the fifth man in twin digits for Uichico with 11 and dished out a night-high eight assists.
Meanwhile, Robert Jaworski Sr., the former Ginebra San Miguel leader and Senator, was one of the first big names that attended the first day of Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan’s wake on Friday at the Ateneo Chapel in Quezon City.
Jaworski, who played for Dalupan at University of the East in the early part of the Red Warriors’ seven-year reign as UAAP champions, said that Philippine basketball lost “it’s greatest coach and a remarkable gentleman.”
Dalupan, the winner of 15 PBA championships, including the first Grand Slam I 1976 with defunct Crispa, passed away on Wednesday night at the age of 92. The league will come up with a “final buzzer” salute to the departed coach on Sunday with other greats like Allan Caidic, Philip Cezar and Atoy Co, just some of the superstars he handled, to attend the ceremonies.
Stanley Pringle scored 25 points and Terrence Romeo capped an 18-point night with four late points to put the game away for the Batang Pier, who put themselves solidly back in the playoff hunt with the win.
Arizona Reid scored 41 points to lead the Beermen, though he was seen arguing with some members of the team during timeouts in the dying minutes.
June Mar Fajardo scored 21 and Marcio Lassiter 15 for the Beermen, who also saw an end to their three-game winning streak. San Miguel’s other loss came at the hands of Mahindra more than a month ago.
