Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — TNT KaTropa advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup after holding off GlobalPort BatangPier, 102-98, on Wednesday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Roger Pogoy registered a team-high for KaTropa with 20 points and four rebounds.
Batang Pier’s dynamic backcourt duo Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle provided a late-game rally to cut TNT’s lead to a single possession with 36 seconds left in the game.
But time was at TNT’s side as they found a way to escape with Troy Rosario burying two clutch free throws at the dying moments of the match.
Mo Tautuaa and Jayson Castro contributed 18 points and 16 points, respectively, for KaTropa who notched their six victory in ten outings.
Terrence Romeo dropped 35 markers for GlobalPort, which fell to 5-5 in the team standings.
TNT will close out its elimination round campaign against the San Miguel Beermen on January 28 (Saturday) at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The scores:
TNT (102) – Pogoy 20, Tautuaa 18, Castro 16, Williams 12, Reyes 7, Rosser 6, Rosario 6, Rosales 6, De Ocampo 6, Fonacier 3, Carey 2, Tamsi 0.
GlobalPort (98) – Romeo 35, Cortez 15, Pringle 14, Canaleta 8, Pennisi 6, Semerad 6, Maierhofer 4, Paredes 3, Pessumal 3, Andrada 2, Quinahan 2.
Quarterscores: 23-23, 53-49, 77-73, 102-98.
