Meralco escapes TNT

Alta Sports2 days ago · 290 views

Photo: PBA Images

By Art Ramirez

Meralco escaped with a 110-106 victory over TNT this Tuesday in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) 50 Commissioner's Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

A determined TNT side threatened to pull off a late heist as Jordan Heading and Rey Nambatac calmly sank four straight free throws, trimming the deficit to just 107-105 with a minute left on the clock.

Photo: PBA Images

The Tropang 5G even forced a crucial turnover after Jason Brickman missed a jumper, but Meralco came up with key defensive stops down the stretch to secure their fourth win in the midseason conference.

The Bolts appeared poised to cruise to victory after stretching its lead to 20 points, 98-78, in the fourth quarter, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Bong Quinto and Raymond Almazan.

But TNT refused to go quietly, answering with a 15-5 run to trim the deficit to just 10 and inject tension into the closing minutes. The Bolts briefly steadied themselves with a quick 4-0 spurt, only for the Tropang 5G to counter anew with an 8-0 surge, capped by a clutch triple from RR Pogoy that cut the gap to six and set the stage for a gripping finish.

Marvin Jones had 29 points and 12 rebounds, while CJ Cansino had 19 points for the Bolts. Bol Bol had 28 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to go down to 2-2.

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