PBA: TNT crushes Phoenix for third win

Kelly Williams goes up for a dunk. PBA IMAGES

TNT sent Phoenix to second straight blowout loss with a 117-98 beating Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The KaTropa bounced back from a frustrating 98-87 loss to Meralco and improved to a 3-2 record while the Fuel Masters slipped to the inverse, 2-3.

Nash Racela also got an early holiday present in the form of his first official win as the head coach of TNT.

When he took over, Racela said he wants to change the mentality of the team, starting by staying aggressive despite holding huge leads down the stretch.

“We are trying to change some things here at TNT and it starts with attitude,” said Racela who officially took over the coaching reins after ending his tenure with Far Eastern University. “It’s a process so it takes time to change a team.”

TNT was holding a comfortable 117-89 lead with less than three minutes left in the game but the Fuel Masters managed to score nine straight points to end the match, though it was too late of a run to make a difference.

“We try to push everybody, even if it’s in the last six minutes we want to see consistency and even if you’re up 25, let’s do it right,” said Racela.

TNT enjoyed a fairly balanced offense as five of its players finished in double figures with Kelly Williams putting up an 18-point, 10-rebound line and Jayson Castro also scoring 18.

Sophomore Troy Rosario had 17 points and nine rebounds while Kris Rosales and Moala Tautuaa combined for 25 points.

Mark Borboran quietly led Phoenix with 18 points, 10 in the fourth, on 7-of-8 shooting from the field.

Phoenix bowed to Star, 123-79, last Saturday.