PBA: Hometown hero Poligrates powers TNT past Meralco in Cebu

The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters rode hometown hero Eliud Poligrates and Kelly Williams in the payoff period to earn an 89-80 win against the Meralco Bolts on Sunday at the Cebu Coliseum.
 
Down two to start the final period, TNT rode Kelly Willams, back after missing time last season due to his medical condition, for an 8-0 run, before the rookie Poligrates delighted the crowd with a spin move, 74-66. Mike Cortez finally broke the dry spell for Meralco, but Poligrates connected with a jumper to re-establish an eight-point lead. Offseason addition Gary David offered a meek reply for the Bolts, as Jayson Castro and Poligrates continued to run the floor for TNT. A Poligrates long bomb pushed the Texters ahead by 11, 81-70, with five minutes left in the game.
 
With the crowd favorite catching him flat-footed on the previous play, David decided to post up Poligrates, the 27th overall pick, before rising up to shoot over the TNT guard. Castro and former Tropang Texter Jared Dillinger then exchanged baskets for a seven-point spread with three minutes left, prior to former number one overall pick Nonoy Baclao converted to beat the shot clock.
 
The teams entered the final two minutes with TNT ahead by nine, as Dillinger's sour shooting continued to plague the Bolts. With 1:29 remaining, David was able to steal two from the line off an offensive rebound, while forcing TNT into a 24-second shot clock violation at the other end.
 
Two missed triples from Dillinger and Cortez led to another David offensive board, but the prolific scorer could not convert in the shaded lane. Two free throws from the Texters, followed by a block from Castro, secured the win, 89-80.
 
The Bolts enjoyed an early lead thanks to a 10-2 run, but TNT kept on chipping away at the Meralco advantage. A Poligrates basket on the break had TNT down by only two, 17-15, only for Meralco to keep connecting from long range. Five straight from Jayson Castro tied the ballgame at the 2:41 mark, forcing Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio to call for time.
 
One-time Tropang Texter Rabeh Al-Hussaini connected after the timeout, but Harvey Carey responded with two charities. A split from Reynel Hugnatan looked to close the first period, but a buzzer-beating jumper by Ali Peek was what ended the quarter, with TNT seizing the driver's seat, 24-23.
 
Three straight hits from Gary David, followed by a basket from Hugnatan, pushed Meralco ahead by six, 34-28, as Castro tried to keep TNT afloat. Four from Allado and Paul Artadi had Talk 'N Text coach Norman Black calling for time, as a 6-0 run capped off by a Poligrates drive tied the game at the 2:34 mark, 38-all.

A pair of free throws from Dillinger, followed by a Cortez drive, had Meralco ahead by four anew, but crisp passing from the Texters tied the game at the half, with Sean Anthony and Ali Peek converting, 42-all.
 
The back and forth continued, as David and Alapag  converted to tie the game at 50-all with eight minutes left in the third. Cortez and Sunday Salvacion strung together five straight, but Nonoy Baclao continued to connect with his baseline jumpers, 55-52. Gary David got his 17th point with another drive, but Peek found Castro free for a three at the other end.

The Blur committed a shooting foul soon after though, leading to three free throws from David, but he made it up with his own charities to tie the game at the two minute mark, 62-all.

After a split from Al-Hussaini, Harvey Carey found an open lane for a one-point edge, but John Wilson got one from the line to tie the game anew. A Wilson-Al-Hussaini connection with 2.7 seconds remaining had Meralco on top heading into the final period, 66-64. - AMD, GMA News