 |
| Anthony Semerad unleashes a three-pointer over the defense of Ginebra import Justin Brownlee in this piece of PBA action at the MOA Arena. |
By Ricky Manliguis
PASAY CITY--
Anthony Semerad found his touch in crunchtime as TNT are a win away from a trip
to the finals with a 107-103 victory over Barangay Ginebra in Game 2 of the PBA
Commissioners’ Cup seminal series at the Mall Of Asia Arena.
The fourth-seeded
KaTropa pounced on the endgame collapse of the crowd darlings as the former San
Beda stalwart buried four consecutive triples in the final 5:21 of the game to
overturn a four-point deficit into a 105-103 cushion, time down to 53 seconds.
Import Joshua
Smith then sealed the deal with a monster putback off a Jayson Castro
three-point attempt with 8.1 left.
Semerad,
obtained from a three-team trade with NLEX and GlobalPort earlier in the
conference, finished the match with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting beyond the arc
. Player of the Week RR Pogoy also cashed in 14, while Castro and Kelly
Williams booked 12 apiece.
Smith,
coming off a 35-point, 13-rebound performance in Game 1, was shackled all game long yet still chalked up a double-double of 16 markers and 15 boards.
Ginebra, dominating the majority of the match thanks to
its defence on Smith, last tasted the
lead at 103-102 as L.A. Tenorio buried a triple on the 1:12 mark of the final canto
only to succumb in the end, missing its final three attempts.
This is the
first time the Tim Cone-mentored squad suffered back-to-back defeats this
conference.
Justin
Brownlee and Tenorio finished with 22 points each as the Gins will try to avert
a sweep in Game 3 slated Thursday at the Big Dome.
The scores:
TNT 107 - Smith 16, Semerad 14, Pogoy 14, Castro 12, Williams 12, Garcia
8, Rosales 8, De Ocampo 7, Reyes 6, Rosario 6, Tautuaa 4, Carey 0.
Ginebra 103 - Brownlee 22, Tenorio 22, Aguilar 17, Devance 14, Thompson
13, Mercado 7, Caguioa 2, Mariano 2, Ferrer 2, Marcelo 2, Helterbrand 0, Cruz
0.
Quarterscores: 22-26,
56-59, 84-85, 107-103.
Follow him on Twitter: @Teaching_Hero
.jpg)
