MANILA, Philippines — TNT stormed back from a 21-point deficit behind its torrid second half offensive to beat Meralco, 100-95 to draw first blood in their PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinal series on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Calvin Oftana led the Tropang 5G’s attack with 28 points and seven rebounds, Rey Nambatac added 17, while Roger Pogoy helped engineer his team’s 28-13 exchange in the third canto.
That period saw Pogoy score 11 points that allowed TNT to eventually overhaul a 31-52 deficit.
TNT will be gunning for a 2-0 series lead come Wednesday.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had a double-double effort of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Chris Banchero led Meralco with 16 points, CJ Cansino had 14, while Chris Newsome and Raymund Almazan scored 13 each.
