RR Garcia vs Carlo Lastimosa. PBA IMAGESWhen TNT needed a hero against Kia, backup point guard RR Garcia heeded the KaTropa’s call.
Jayson Castro abruptly left the game with almost two minutes remaining after hitting the floor hard and Garcia took it upon himself to wear the boots of the once best point guard in Asia.
Garcia drove twice to the basket, and hit as many layups in the final 1:22 that propelled TNT to a 90-85 win over the Picanto.
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“There was no one else who would step up, it would either be me or kuya Kelly [Williams],” said Garcia in Filipino Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.
Williams, who finished the game with 23 points and eight boards, could’ve been the closer but the backup guard was ready to take over in the clutch.
Garcia also knew he had to make up for the blanks he fired for most of the game where he finished on a 5-of-15 shooting clip.
“I had a really bad start, but I know I was confident in myself even though I kept on missing earlier in the game,” said Garciam who had four of his five field goals in the fourth quarter.
TNT had an 81-70 lead midway through the fourth but saw it dissipate to just two, 85-83, after Kia’s furious dash that Jackson Corpuz capped off with a layup with 1:35 remaining.
That was before Garcia took over in the final moments for TNT in Castro’s absence.
“I know I have to be ready whenever I am called,” said Garcia. “We can’t just rely on kuya Jayson.”