TNT beats San Miguel by 20 in out-of-town clash, holds steady at No. 1

PBA Media Bureau

TNT point guard Jayson Castro orchestrated over his team’s offense masterfully as the KaTropa cruised to a huge victory over a tough San Miguel side, 105-85, in a big-time Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup clash on Saturday at the Batangas City Coliseum.

Ranidel De Ocampo led the way with 18 points while Castro added 16 markers and racked up 13 big assists in a masterful performance manning the backcourt.

Michael Madanly scored 15 points – including seven in a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter – and Troy Rosario had 13 markers. Import Mychal Ammons, meanwhile, finshed with 11 points and 11 rebounds while playing solid defense on San Miguel star center June Mar Fajardo.

Fajardo finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds but it was far from enough for the Beermen in this one.

TNT won for the eighth time in nine games, holding steady at No. 1 in the standings while San Miguel, which entered the game tied for second place, slid down to third with a 6-3 mark.

The game was a hard-fought contest in the first half with TNT sitting in the lead, 47-45, at the half.

Castro led the KaTropa with nine points but San Miguel’s Fajardo led all scorers after tallying 13 points and seven rebounds over the first two periods.

Castro began to take over with his playmaking in the third, though.

He dished out five assists in the period, setting up several baskets from Ammons in transition and even a three-pointer from Larry Fonacier. He also scored seven points for himself before subbing out at the 1:35 mark with his team leading by double figures, 74-63.

Fonacier hit another triple inside the final minute of the quarter to push the KaTropa’s lead up to 16, 80-64, heading into the fourth.

Madanly then opened the final period with a triple and Mo Tautuaa dunked the ball to make it a massive 21-point advantage, 85-64, with over 11 minutes remaining in the game. The Asian import then scored two more baskets as he accounted for seven of the team’s first nine points.

Castro would later return and control the game again, assisting on an alley-oop jam by Kelly Williams, a pick and pop with Harvey Carey and a couple of three-pointers from Rosario as the TNT lead ballooned to a high of 29 points, 99-70, at the 5:39 mark.

SMB import Mike Singletary tried to spark a comeback as they scored 13 unanswered points to come to within 16, 99-83, but a basket from De Ocampo stemmed the momentum and the Beermen simply did not have enough time in the end. - Interaksyon