Texters, E-Painters a win from s’finals

RAIN or Shine’s Raymond Almazan (20) and Gabe Norwood challenge a driving Othyus Jeffers of Ginebra in last night’s game at Cuneta Astrodome. KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ

TROY Rosario showed his true worth as the future of the Tropang TNT franchise yesterday, his career game giving the Texters the lift they needed in getting the crucial head start on Alaska in their Oppo-PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal series.

The 24-year-old rookie scored 31 points, 12 of them during the most critical moments of the fourth period as the Texters prevailed, 106-99, at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

The defending champion TNT actually blew an early 15-point lead and needed to come back from 91-94 down with 3:31 left to seal the win and gain two chances to wrap up their best-of-three series for a seat in the Final Four.

“Troy just made the big shots in the end,” said TNT coach Jong Uichico after his 6-foot-7 forward dropped a total of seven triples—three of them in a string—before capping his explosive night with a three-point play off Dondon Hontiveros for 102-97, with 59 seconds left.

“This is far from over,” Uichico, whose wards can wrap up this series on Tuesday, said. “You cannot relax against a team like Alaska.”

Rain or Shine bounced back from a bum start and a 19-point first-half deficit, getting big buckets from Jeff Chan in the fourth period to clip Barangay Ginebra, 88-84, for a similar 1-0 lead in their separate race-to-two series.

It was certainly a painful loss to swallow for the Aces, who surged ahead, 97-96, after a long uphill climb only to fall into a drought with just one bucket inside the final 2:07.

David Simon topscored for TNT with 24 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. Rosario also had seven boards, and Jason Castro returned to active duty with 17 points and 12 feeds coming off the bench.

Castro, who sat out a 98-104 loss to San Miguel Beer on Friday reportedly because of a bum stomach, hit a triple with 1:44 left to give the Texters the lead, 99-97, before Rosario completed a three-point play off a followup of a Castro fastbreak miss.

Meanwhile, top seed San Miguel Beer tangles with sister team Star in the 7 p.m. contest and second-ranked Meralco battles No. 7 NLEX with the Beermen and the Bolts shooting for a win to advance outright to the semifinals.

The scores:
First Game
TROPANG TNT 106—Rosario 31, Simon 34, Castro 17, De Ocampo 13, Ababou 6, Williams 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Tautuaa 4, Carey 2, Fonacier 0, R Reyes 0, J Reyes 0.
ALASKA 99—Dozier 22, Abueva 18, Eximiniano 11, Banchero 10, Thoss 8, Jazul 7, Manuel 6, Baclao 4, Hontiveros 4, Dela Cruz 3, Menk 3, Dela Rosa 2, Baguio 1.
Quarters: 27-27, 57-44, 81-72, 106-99
Second Game
RAIN OR SHINE 88—Quiñahan 17, Chan 15, Henderson-Niles 12, Ponferada 8, Tiu 8, Ahanmisi 6, Norwood 6, Lee 3, Almazan 2, Trollano 2, Belga 0, Ibañes 0.
GINEBRA 84—Tenorio 20, Aguilar 13, Jeffers 12, Caguioa 10, Slaughter 10, Devance 7, Mercado 5, Ellis 4, Mercado 3, Thompson 0.
Quarters: 12-27, 40-41, 70-70, 88-84