By REYNALD MAGALLON
Simon Enciso delivered the dagger to the heart of former team San Miguel as TNT finally scored a breakthrough 89-84 win in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Sunday, May 4.
With the Tropang 5G protecting a precarious three-point lead, 83-80, inside the last two minutes, RR Pogoy gathered the offensive rebound and then found Enciso on the kickout, delivering the clutch corner triple with 49 seconds left.
If that was not enough, Pogoy also nailed another one from the other side to finally assure the team’s first victory after suffering from three-straight losses in their worst start to the conference in 25 years.
Calvin Oftana filled the void left by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson firing 23 points while hauling down a career-high 21 rebounds to go with six assists, a steal and a block.
Pogoy fired 14 to provide support while Enciso had 13 in what appeared to be a revenge game against SMB which allowed him to walk away before getting picked up by TNT through the free agency.
Rey Nambatac also chipped in 15 as Kelly Williams added 12 points and six rebounds.
CJ Perez paced SMB with 26 while June MAr Fajardo added 21 points and 14 rebounds in a losing effort for the Beermen who slid to a 3-2 slate.
Meanwhile, Magnolia banked on its bench mob to clobber Terrafirma, 127-94, and stay perfect.
The Hotshot tore the game apart in the second frame and never showed mercy from there to improve to a perfect 5-0 record while sending the Dyip reeling to a third straight defeat for a 1-4 slate.
Magnolia clamped down on the defensive end and only allowed Terrafirma to score 12 points while it exploded for 38 to erect a commanding 65-37 lead – an advantage that simply proved too much for the Dyip to overcome.
Zav Lucero led the way with 19 points and nine rebounds while Paul Lee had 13 points and Joseph Eriobu and Jerrick Ahanmisi with 11 apiece.
James Laput led the bench mob with nine while Jerom Lastimosa, Jerrick Balanza, Rome Dela Rosa, Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang all had eight points each.
