PBA: TNT routs Alaska, wins four straight heading into playoffs
TNT’s Roger Pogoy. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—TNT ended its elimination round campaign on an emphatic note, crushing Alaska, 105-83, for its fourth straight win in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Saturday at DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Tropang Giga will enter the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage following a 10-1 run in the preliminaries while the Aces, who slid to 3-5, will still have some work to do if they hope to secure a spot in the playoffs.
TNT established an early dominance over the Aces building a 19-point lead, 47-28, on the back of a 12-0 run that Kelly Williams capped off with a three-pointer with 2:25 to play in the second quarter.
Tropang Giga head coach Chot Reyes said their final game presented them with an opportunity to try out new schemes heading into the playoffs.
Nice pass from Williams to Marcelo for the reverse; 85-69 #PBAiTuloyAngLaban pic.twitter.com/WZwKCI3VXf
— PBA (@pbaconnect) September 18, 2021
“We have to figure out how to stay sharp because I know we’re going to have a pretty long break now,” said Reyes. “We talked about in the pregame was how we can grow. So we wanted to try some things in this game that we haven’t been doing and that we haven’t done in the past games.”
“That’s what we focused on, we want to continue growing and getting better as a team.”
Roger Pogoy finished with 18 points to lead TNT, which had five players finish in double digits, while Poy Erram added 17 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Mikey Williams pitched in 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while Kelly had his own 12 points.
Abu Tratter led Alaska with 12 points and nine rebounds.
