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MANILA, Philippines—TNT secured its spot in the quarterfinals after taking down Terrafirma, 127-107, in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga racked up their fourth straight win for a share of fourth place with Meralco at 6-4 while the Dyip, who are already eliminated from playoff contention, dropped to 2-9 to end their campaign.
TNT went with a hard-nosed offensive approach in the game as it pounded the interior on its way to outscoring the Dyip, 74-42 in the paint.
Although the Tropang Giga led all throughout the game, it wasn’t until the fourth that they built a sizable margin, taking a 120-101 buffer after Aaron Fuller’s jumper capped off a late 11-3 run with 3:21 to play.
Fuller towers over Pascual #PBAiTuloyAngLaban pic.twitter.com/uaOMtJTLGk
— PBA (@pbaconnect) March 9, 2022
“Our offense is made on what the defense gives us, I thought they were doing a good job running our shooters off the three-point line, and we couldn’t make our shots early,” said TNT head coach Chot Reyes.
“So we went to where we think we have an advantage and our big guys Aaron, Poy (Erram) did a great job there together with Kelly (Williams) and Troy (Rosario).”
Fuller led the Tropang Giga with 24 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks while Mikey Williams added 16 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Antonio Hester had a game-high 30 points and 13 boards to lead Terrafirma.