Glen Rice Jr. PBA IMAGES
ANTIPOLO — Glen Rice Jr. did a little bit of everything and TNT scraped past NLEX, 112-107, in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday night at Ynares Center here.
Rice notched a triple-double with 25 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists with five blocks while Troy Rosario added 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Jayson Castro had 13 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that gave the KaTropa a 110-106 lead with 1:12 remaining.
“That was a hard-fought win. It’s good that we’re able to play together especially on the defensive end. We struggled a bit offensively but we’re able to organize ourselves in the endgame,” TNT coach Nash Racela told reporters.
“The last few days were really tough for us. And for us to really have a good chance today, important thing is we accept the change, embrace the change right away and move forward right away,” Racela, whose squad improved to 6-3, said.
The KaTropa played their first game without veteran forward Ranidel de Ocampo, who was sent to Meralco on Monday in a shocking three-team deal.
“Practice was emotional yesterday. Ranidel dropped by practice to say goodbye. Fortunately, the guys were able to focus.”
De Ocampo won six championships at Talk ‘N Text during his eight seasons with the franchise.
Aaron Fuller led the Road Warriors, who remained in second place despite sliding to 7-3, with 28 points and 18 rebounds while Alex Mallari had 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Larry Fonacier, the former longtime TNT swingman, who was traded to NLEX four months ago late in the Commissioner’s Cup, played against his former team for the first time and had 10 points off the bench.