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TNT caught fire early and torched Rain or Shine, 95-85, in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Texters waxed hot from the get-go as they opened the game with a 17-0 blast that took the fight out of Rain or Shine early.
It was a wire-to-wire win by TNT, which erected a 25-point lead, 34-9, and never looked back. But despite the dominating victory, head coach Jong Uichico wasn’t totally pleased with his team’s showing.
“We played good for three quarters and a half,” Uichico said.
“It was unintended that we were making our shots and they were missing theirs. But at the end of the game, I don’t know why we didn’t have that killer’s instinct. They relaxed in the end, and we know if the lead is not that big, Rain or Shine can come back at any time,” Uichico said. “We were lucky that the lead was at the 20s.”
Moala Tautuaa, who is coming off his best scoring game in a loss to Barako Bull last Thursday, re-set his career-high with 27 points that went with eight rebounds while fellow rookie Troy Rosario added 19 points and 11 rebounds as TNT secured at least a quarterfinals seat with a 5-3 record and snapped Rain or Shine’s three-game winning run.
JR Quiñahan led Rain or Shine (6-2) with 21 points and six rebounds while Jeff Chan had 15 points.
The Elasto Painters also shot a horrendous 0-for-15 from rainbow country in the first half, the worst three-shooting performance in a half in league history. They went on to miss seven more attempts in the second half before making their last four tries to slice the deficit to just 10.
The scores:
TNT 95 – Tautuaa 27, Rosario 19, Fonacier 9, Castro 9, Ganuelas-Rosser 8, R, Reyes 8, Carey 4, Miranda 4, Williams 4, Aban 3, J. Reyes 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 85 – Quinahan 21, Chan 15, Cruz 14, Almazan 13, Ahanmisi 8, Trollano 5, Belga 3, Nimes 2, Norwood 2, Matias 1, Tiu 1, Ibanes 0, Ponferrada 0.
Quarters: 34-11, 50-27, 70-54, 95-85.