PBA: TNT escapes Macau in Governors' Cup debut

TNT escaped Macau, 106-103, in its PBA Governors’ Cup debut on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang 5G led by as many as 18 points, 101-83, with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before the Giant Pandas mounted an 18-3 run to trim the deficit to 104-101.

RR Pogoy split his free throws after drawing a foul from De'Vondre Perry to extend TNT's lead to 105-101 with 16 seconds left. Damian Chongqui then made one free throw on each of Macau's next two possessions to cut the deficit to 105-103 with four seconds remaining.

Rey Nambatac also split his free throws after being fouled by Xingzhao Chao to push the lead to 106-103 before Xucheng Liu's desperation four-point attempt fell short at the buzzer.

Despite the win, Tropang 5G head coach Chot Reyes said it was a challenging feat for their injury-laden squad.

“Obviously, you can’t be satisfied with an ending like that. Number one, kulang kami sa players. We have three starters who are not playing,” Reyes said, adding that this is their first game with their import as they also did not have any tuneup games for recovery.

“There’s a lot to work on and [with] the game that we played tonight, it cannot match with other teams in our group so... like I told the players before the game, we’re a work in progress, but if we focus on the right things, just make sure that we put in some effort and focus on our defense then that should be fine.”

Nambatac paced TNT with 23 points, six assists, three rebounds, one steal, and one block, while import Darius Days also scored 23 points to go with six rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Pogoy added 21 points, while Glenn Khobuntin chipped in 11.

The win spoiled Perry's 36-point, 10-rebound performance for Macau. Chongqui added 24 points, while Ramon Cao and Kobey Lam scored 14 points apiece as the Giant Pandas remained winless through four games.

Scores:

TNT 106 – Days 23, Nambatac 23, Pogoy 21, Khobuntin 11, Aurin 9, Quetevis 8, Galinato 4, Ferrer 3, Jalalon 2, Heading 2, Varilla 0, Enciso 0, Celzo 0.

Macau 103 – Perry 36, Chongqui 24, Lam 14, Cao 14, Ma 8, Z.Zhnag 3, Chao 2, Y.Zhang 2, Liu 0, Zhu 0.

Quarters: 25-21, 52-48, 80-67, 106-103.

—JKC, GMA News