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TNT relied on an endgame burst to beat Rain or Shine, 118-114, Friday night and finally nail the last semifinal slot in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
But just as soon as the final buzzer sounded, it dawned on TNT coach Nash Racela that they are going to be taking an even more difficult task of facing a rampaging defending champion Barangay Ginebra in the semifinals.
“It’s gonna be tough, personally I saw the last game where they dominated San Miguel,” said Racela. “You know their (Gin Kings) strength, it’s their height and the coaches that they have.”
They start their best-of-five semifinals series on Monday also at the Big Dome. On Sunday, the other semifinal pairing gets going when Star battles Meralco in Biñan, Laguna.
The Final Four matchups bumped up on intrigue as it will pit squads belonging to rival business tycoons.
The reigning champion Kings and the Hotshots are owned by San Miguel Corp.’s Ramon S. Ang while Smart/PLDT’s Manny V. Pangilinan owns Meralco and TNT.
But even without that curious subplot, TNT import Glen Rice Jr., acknowledged the daunting job ahead.
“We just have to go out there and grind it out and see what happens,” said Rice, who topscored with 34 points including a put-back off a rare air ball by Jayson Castro that sealed the victory in the final 10.2 seconds.
“It’s a pass, I guess,” differed the son of the famed NBA superstar. “He just happened to find me open.”
The shot gave the Texters a 116-114 lead and TNT forced the Painters into a turnover to cement their entry into the semifinals after being forced to a knockout match by a gritty Rain or Shine squad.
The Painters, who evened out a twice-to-beat disadvantage after a 106-102 win Wednesday, was in the thick of the fight all throughout until import J’Nathan Bullock threw away a chance to equalize in the last 10 seconds by a bad pass.
“It was a hard-fought victory,” said Racela. “I knew all along that we were going up against a tough team in Rain or Shine. The breaks went our way down the stretch.”
Bullock made both his free throws for a 114-112 Rain or Shine lead in the last 46 seconds, pushing the second-ranked TNT against the ropes.
But Castro also made a pair of his own to force 114-all before a Jericho Cruz miss paved the way for that air ball/alley oop shot.