SMART Clark Giga City -- TNT Tropang Giga became the second twice-to-beat team to dispatch its lower-ranked rival in one game.
RR Pogoy and his teammates erupted big time from a 51-all halftime count and blasted Alaska Milk, 104-83, to advance to the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-five semifinals Saturday at the Smart 5G-powered AUF Sports Arena.
Pogoy, who exploded for 45 points in the previous TNT-Alaska match that kicked off the bubble play here, showed up with hot hands once again, firing away 34 markers to lead the way as the Tropang Giga rolled to the next round where they face either second seed Phoenix Super LPG or seventh ranked Magnolia.
"We'll be ready whoever we face in the semis," said coach Bong Ravena.
The TNT bench chieftain was happy and proud of the effort of his chargers who stood their ground in a fierce shootout early on then toughened up on defense to stymie Alaska's offense in the second half.
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That fuelled their second-half breakaway as they pummeled and pounded the Aces, 33-15, in the third quarter.
And it was all TNT from there.
Still, Ravena insisted it was a tough game.
"It's all about defense. As much as possible, we don't want to break down on defense. We have to rotate especially on the weak side. We managed to do what we wanted to do. It's tough but we pulled through," said Ravena.
Pogoy proved to be Alaska's big problem once again with the Cebuano hotshot sizzling with 6-of-10 three-points in his 34-point game he also laced with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
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Bobby Ray Parks provided the early firepower for TNT and the sophomore wingman finished with 20 markers, five boards and five dole-outs.
Jayson Castro, dealing with a calf issue, played limited minutes but helped out with eight points and five rebounds.
Poy Erram chipped in 11 rebounds and nine markers while Troy Rosario contributed 10 points. (SB)
The Scores:
TNT 104 - Pogoy 34, Parks 20, Rosario 10, Erram 9, Castro 8, Enciso 6, Semerad 4, Washington 4, Reyes 2, Montalbo 2, Vosotros 0, Flores 0.
ALASKA 83 - Teng 13, Ahanmisi 12, Manuel 12, Herndon 11, Brondial 9, Ayaay 8, Tratter 6, DiGregorio 4, Ebona 4, Casio 2, Marcelino 2, Andrada 0, Publico 0.
Quarters: 28-23; 51-51; 84-66;104-83.
