TNT puts its unbeaten record on the table when it takes on lowly Alaska in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City on Friday.
Holding an unblemished record of 6-0 won-lost, the KaTropa tackle the cellar-dwelling Aces (1-5) in the main game at 7 p.m.
Meralco (3-2), meanwhile, tries to stay afloat in the upper half of the standings when it faces Blackwater (2-3) at 4:30 p.m.
In its most recent outing, TNT received tons of help from import KJ McDaniels when the American exploded with 51 points along with 10 rebounds as the KaTropa rallied from a 19-point deficit to turn off the Meralco Bolts, 116-113, last October 12.
McDaniels also had plenty of help from the locals. RR Pogoy tallied 23 points and seven boards, while Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario registered 21 and 12 points, respectively.
The Bolts were in control for most part of the opening minutes and even extended their lead to 32-13 in the first period.
But McDaniels slowly shouldered the fightback in the middle quarters to push his team to the lead at 74-72 in the third quarter.
“It was a tough game for us against Meralco, we’ll see if we can survive again in our next game,” TNT Coach Bong Ravena said. “Good thing our players are composed, and are doing it greatly in defense.”
Alaska, on the other hand, breached the win column after five failed attempts courtesy of a 78-71 win over Rain or Shine last Sunday.
Jeron Teng returned from a hamstring injury and immediately made his presence with 18 points, four of which came from a decisive 6-0 run that gave them a 70-63 lead with less than five minutes remaining.