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Troy Rosario proved hotter than the stinging Manila heat with a fiery shooting from the outside.
Rosario’s hot hand carried TNT over Alaska, 106-99, in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinals duel in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday at Cuneta Astrosome.
The second overall pick in the 2015 PBA Draft torched the Aces with a career-high 31 points on a 7-of-10 shooting from three-point area that went with seven rebounds.
“It’s good that we made big shots, Troy made big shots in the end game, and we made crucial stops,” said TNT head coach Jong Uichico.
David Simon added 24 markers and 14 boards, while Jayson Castro had a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists in his return after missing the Tropa’s loss to San Miguel Beer last Friday.
It was a sorry defeat for Calvin Abueva, who almost single-handedly carried his team anew from 15 points down and paved the way for a nip-and-tuck battle in the final six minutes of the game.
He finished with 18 points eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
“Sometimes, you don’t know what’s happening in the game. You think you’re in control of the game and all of a sudden, Alaska comes back. You make a mistake here and there, Alaska comes back and dictates the tempo of the game,” said Uichico.
Castro nailed a booming trey in the final 1:44 and made Sonny Thoss pay dearly for his muffed hook shot on the other end, racing down the court for a fastbreak before Rosario scored on a putback and-one to push his team up, 102-97, with 59.1 seconds left.
“For us to win the next game, we have to be able to dictate that tempo. You can’t discount Alaska kasi di ka makarelax cause they’ll keep on playing the same game all throughout,” said Uichico.
Game 2 is on Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rob Dozier led Alaska with 22 markers and six rebounds, while Ping Exciminiano got 11.
The scores:
TNT 106 – Rosario 31, Simon 24, Castro 17, De Ocampo 13, Ababou 6, Williams 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Tautuaa 4, Carey 2, Fonacier 0, J. Reyes 0, R. Reyes 0.
ALASKA 99 – Dozier 22, Abueva 18, Exciminiano 11, Banchero 10, Thoss 8, Jazul 7, Manuel 6, Baclao 4, Hontiveros 4, Dela Cruz 3, Menk 3, Dela Rosa 2, Baguio 1, Racal 0.
Quarters: 27-27, 57-44, 81-72, 106-99.