TNT hopes to repeat over San Miguel in Game Two of their Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals series on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Katropa won Game One, courtesy of a last-second shot by their hulking but hurting import, Joshua Smith.
The 6-foot-9 behemoth played limited minutes but took over in the dying moments, when his hook shot before the buzzer towed his team to a nail-biting 104-102 win against the Beermen.
The two powerhouse teams meet again at 7 p.m.
“First game is crucial. We are just blessed to win it,” TNT Head Coach Nash Racela said after his team’s triumph on Wednesday.
Still nursing a foot injury that he got from their semifinals duel against Barangay Ginebra, Smith only played under 27 minutes but managed to contribute 21 points and nine rebounds coming off the bench.
Visibly limping midway in the fourth quarter, when San Miguel launched a counterattack after being down by 10, 85-95, Smith saved the best for last when the lead just evaporated and went tied at 102 after Chris Ross made two free throws with seven seconds remaining.
Smith caught the ball from the inbounds after the defenders denied Jayson Castro to get it. Taking his time to make his move against June Mar Fajardo as the time ticks down, Smith heaved a hook for the eventual game winner with one second left on the clock.
“It came down to the last shot. It’s going to be tough games. It’s going to be whoever team that crawls it out, grinds it out,” Smith said.
“I’m glad we’re the first team to get the first win so we’re three steps closer,” he added.
Roger Pogoy led Katropa with a career-high 27 points in five-of-nine shooting from the three-point line. Castro added 14 markers, with nothing bigger than his triple with 44 seconds remaining that put them ahead, 102-99.
Charles Rhodes topscored with 31 points and 13 rebounds for the Beermen, while Fajardo added 18 points and 13 boards.
“We had a hard time preparing for the game because we didn’t know who would be their import,” San Miguel Head Coach Leo Austria said, as he also acknowledged the game-winning shot of Smith.
“We fought hard but we came up short because of Smith’s shot,” he added.