THE TNT Tropang Giga hit their strides in their return from the halftime huddle and overcame an early 18-point deficit in turning back the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 105-100, in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo Friday.
Jalen Hudson, RR Pogoy and Mikey Williams anchored their 44-point explosion in the third quarter and the Tropa kept the fire through the payoff period, thus, notching a second straight win after a triumphant conference debut versus the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters Wednesday.
The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, reeled to a second straight defeat, no thanks to a faltering finish.
"We just gave credit to Rain or Shine's defense cause they really played well (early on). Sometime, you need to do that, giving credit to your opponents' defense for you to do something," said TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa.
After being limited to 36 points in the first half, the Tropa figured something in the third period and in the process chopped down an 18-point deficit to just four, 80-84, going to the final canto.
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And as Hudson, Pogoy and Williams kept firing, the Tropa eventually surged ahead then foiled the E-Painters' own comeback bid as they stayed perfect under their new coach.
Williams had an all-around game of 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists that he highlighted with a booming trey off Beau Belga that settled the outcome of the game.
"My teammates told me to stay aggressive. I felt I'm not 100 percent but I kept pushing," said Williams.
Hudson also collected 24 points on top of 14 rebounds while Pogoy tossed in 22 marker built on 6-of-10 three-pointers.
Kelly Williams also played a big part as the primary defender to Michael Qualls. He chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.
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The E-Painters set the pace most of the way but went down in defeat after bleeding for just 16 markers in the fourth quarter.
Qualls and his teammates poured in 20 in the first, 29 in the second and 35 in the third.
The ROS import finished with 35 markers and 17 boards in a losing cause.
Lastimosa said they were able to come back as they didn't panic even after falling behind by a big margin in the first half.
"Down by 13 at the half, we thought they're not too far ahead and we're not too far behind," said Lastimosa. (SB)
