TNT thrashes Columbian for share of lead in PBA Commissioner’s Cup

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TNT showed no remorse and manhandled Columbian, 123-95, for its second straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The KaTropa climbed to the top of the standings and tied Rain or Shine with a 5-1 record while the Dyip, who have shown vast improvement as of late, reeled to their second straight loss and to a 3-4 card.

TNT drew contributions from the entire team with six players finishing with at least 11 points each.

Troy Rosario unleashed 21 points in just 19 minutes, while Terrence Romeo added 19 points, seven rebounds and five boards.

The KaTropa immediately opened the floodgates starting the first quarter on a 14-2 run and that margin eventually ballooned to 19 points, 36-17, at the end of the period.

TNT head coach Nash Racela said it was imperative for them to prevent the Dyip from getting a good start and establish the tempo as early as possible.

“We knew getting into this game that Columbian is definitely a better team now,” said Racela. “If they start strong obviously they will win by a big margin but the times they’ve lost they lost big because they didn’t start well.”

“We made sure from the initial tip that we will be able to match up with abything they threw at us.”

Jericho Cruz chipped in 17 points, six rebounds and seven dimes while returning import Josh Smith powered through with 11 points in just 13 minutes of play.

John Fields finished with a game-high 34 points with 20 boards for the Dyip while Ronald Tubid added 13 points.