Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The TNT KaTropa engaged the Alaska Aces in a fiery endgame shootout before emerging victorious, 120-118, Friday night in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Jayson Castro sizzled all night long, finishing with a team-high 25 points. Six other KaTropa players scored at least 14 points. Mo Tautuaa posted 18 points; Ryan Reyes added 15 on five out of six three-pointers; Ranidel De Ocampo had 15 markers and 11 boards; while imports Michael Madanly and Mario Little chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively.
TNT improved to 3-0, joining Mahindra at the top spot in the team standings.
TNT and Alaska engaged in furious exchanges of three-point bombs with KaTropa making 13 out of 27 triples, while the Aces nailed 12 out of 27 treys.
Import LaDontae Henton paced Alaska with 35 points; Dondon Hontiveros posted 22 on a perfect four-of-four triples while Chris Banchero made 18 markers.
Alaska, which fell to 1-2, played minus star player Calvin Abueva, who served a one-game suspension for having elbowed Barangay Ginebra’s Chris Ellis in their last game, which the Aces won.
Rain or Shine 98, Blackwater 92
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters flexed just enough muscle in the endgame to roll back the Blackwater Elite, 98-92.
With the Painters ahead by 12 points, 86-74, in the fourth quarter, the Elite scored 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 86-84.
But a Jericho Cruz corner triple followed by a JR Quinahan layup pushed ROS’ lead back to 91-84, with 2:04 left.
The Elite still refused to surrender, cutting the deficit to 93-90, with 57 seconds left. But Quinahan sealed the victory for ROS with three free throws.
It was ROS’ second straight win after starting the conference with a loss. Blackwater absorbed its second loss in three games.
Jeff Chan and import Dior Lowhorn paced the Painters with 20 points apiece. Lowhorn, who was nursing a cold, also collected 12 boards in 28 minutes.
Quinahan scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter while Cruz scored five of his nine points also in the final frame.
Carlo Lastimosa led the Elite with 20 points, while JP Erram added 16 markers. Blackwater import Eric Dawson was held to just 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting, although he grabbed 25 boards on top of six assists, five blocks, and three steals.
Jones Cup
Philippines 80, Iran 73
In Taipei, the import-laden Philippines-Mighty Sports squad defeated Iran, 80-73, on Friday to overcome their biggest challenge in the 2016 William Jones Cup. Their sixth straight win assured the Philippine team of the championship even if they lose their last two games—against Egypt Saturday and Chinese-Taipei B on Sunday because of their higher quotient.
Al Thornton led PH-Mighty Sports against Iran with 24 points and eight rebounds. Dewarick Spencer added 21 points and nine rebounds, while Hamady Ndiaye chipped in 14 points and three boards.
The Iranian team didn’t include top national team players Hamed Haddadi and Nikkhah Bahrami.
2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship
South Korea 93, Philippines 85
The Philippine national youth basketball team crashed out of the 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship campaign, losing to rival South Korea, 93-85, in the quarterfinal round of the tournament on Friday in Tehran, Iran.
Team captain Jolo Mendoza scored 19 points while Kemark Carino posted a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds in a gallant losing effort for Team Philippines.
The Filipinos led by double-digits in the first half and by seven points in the fourth quarter but collapsed after an 11-0 run by the Koreans.
PBA Games Saturday: Barangay Ginebra Kings (2-1) vs. Meralco Bolts (2-1).
Jones Cup: Philippines (5-0) vs. Egypt (3-3).
