TNT ends 6-year PH Cup drought with dominant Game

5 blowout
By Princess Xyrill Baua

MANILA PHILIPPINES — TNT Tropang Giga dominated Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots, 94-79, in
Game 5 of their best-of-seven Philippine Cup series to finally acquire the PBA Cup Title after six-year at Don
Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga, Friday night.

Taking up a 4-1 lead series, Tropang Giga won their first championship since 2015 and avenged their
runner-up finish in the All-Filipino Conference last year.

Rookie Mikey Williams, who proved to be more consistent down the stretch, finished with 24 points, 4
rebounds, and 4 assists to earn the title of Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) and lead TnT to victory.

Entering the First Quarter, Tropang Giga got off a slow start, trailing the rivals until midway through the first
period, but an 11-2 run to end the opening period put them up by seven points, 21-14

They brought that momentum into the second quarter by surpassing the Hotshots' scoring, 26-19, to take a
47-33 halftime lead. TNT relied on its strong defense during that period, limiting Magnolia to only 8-of-26 shooting
from the field.

Magnolia came alive in the third quarter, cutting their deficit to 15 points, 45-60, thanks to Ian Sangalang's
basket.

TNT, on the other hand, received enough assistance from its supporting cast in the form of Glenn Khobuntin
and Ryan Reyes to maintain their 72-53 lead at the end of the third period and move 12 minutes closer to the
championship. That lead remained with TNT indefinitely.

With this victory in this year's All-Filipino conference, corporate rival San Miguel Corporation's reign came to
an end after three of its clubs—Ginebra, San Miguel, and Magnolia—had dominated the previous seven editions.

Surprisingly, TNT won the championship by defeating these three clubs in the playoffs.

TNT 94 - M. Williams, 24, Pogoy 19, Castro 10, Reyes 9, Rosario 9, K. Khobuntin 8, Montalbo 7, Erram 7,
Williams 1, Exciminiano 0, Heruela 0, Alejandro 0.
Magnolia 79 - Sangalang 18, Abueva 14, Ahanmisi 11, Barroca 10, Lee 7, Dela Rosa  5, Dionisio 5,
Pascual 4, Reavis 4, Jalalon 1, Brill 0, Corpuz 0, Melton 0.
 
Quarterscores: 21-14, 47-33, 72-53, 94-79.
Tropang Giga take home All-Filipino crown, end 6-year
title drought
   

By Carl Santiago

MANILA--TNT completed its magical run this conference after holding off Magnolia, 94–79, to cap
off the PBA Philippine Cup Finals in five games at Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor,
Pampanga.

With the victory, the Tropang Giga clinched their first title since 2015 and their first All-Filipino
crown in eight years.

Banking on their prized freshman Mikey Williams all tournament long, the 30-year-old Fil-Am did
not disappoint in the title clincher as he finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists,
catapulting his Finals MVP award in a runaway fashion. 

RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro contributed 19 and 10 markers, respectively, while Poy Erram was
steady on the defensive end as he finished the game with seven points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks.

Ian Sangalang top-scored for the Hotshots with 18 points and nine boards, while Best Player of the
Conference winner Calvin Abueva added 14 points and six rebounds, but their backcourt continued their
woes on both ends as they couldn’t find a way to neutralize Williams on defense.

The Tropang Giga came out as the clear aggressor, veering away from their usual outside
shooting weapon as they scored at will inside the paint for an 11-0 run in the opening period.

Magnolia simply couldn’t find an answer for the rest of the match, as TNT found their groove
beyond the arc in the second quarter while the lead ballooned to as much as 25 at 63-88 in the final
period.

The Hotshots made a last-ditch effort to mount a comeback, but time was simply not on their side
as TNT relied on their endgame defense to sustain the lead, cruising to a 15-point victory to close the
tournament in Bacolor on top of the Philippine basketball.

The scores :

TNT 94 – M. Williams 24, Pogoy 19, Castro 10, Rosario 9, Reyes 9, Khobuntin 8, Montalbo 7,
Erram 7, K. Williams 1, Heruela 0, Exciminiano 0, Alejandro 0.

MAGNOLIA 79 – Sangalang 18, Abueva 14, Ahanmisi 11, Barroca 10, Lee 7, Dela Rosa 5,
Dionisio 5, Reavis 4, Pascual 4, Jalalon 1, Corpuz 0, Melton 0, Brill 0.

Quarters: 21-14, 47-33, 72-53, 94-79

'Super rookie' Mikey Williams named Finals MVP

MANILA--Mikey Williams got not just one but two belated birthday gifts.

Aside from winning the PBA Philippine Cup championship for TNT, Williams, who just turned 30
earlier this week, also won the Finals Most Valuable Player award.

In just his first PBA conference, Williams introduced himself with a performance that almost won
him the Best Player of the Conference.

He continued it in the championship series against Magnolia, leading TNT in scoring with 27.6
points per game.

He also averaged 5.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 0.8 steals per game in the series that lasted five
games.

In the title-clinching Game 5 on Friday night at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in
Bacolor, Pampanga, he put up 24 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal.

Williams became the first freshman since Brandon Cablay during the 2003 Invitational Conference
to win Finals MVP honors.
 Serbia averts second-quarter collapse,
caps back-to-back title in Men’s Water Polo

A setback sometimes paves the way for a comeback.

Proving to be steadier down the stretch, Serbia came back from a second-quarter setback and mounted a
tightly-contested four-quarter tussle to stage an astounding fairytale bounce back rout against an obdurate Greek team,
13-10, in their final match in 2020 Tokyo Olympics Men’s Water Polo last August 8 at Tatsumi Water Polo Centre, Japan.

It was a nerve-wracking conquest for the Dejan Savic-mentored squad as they managed to fight back from an
almost scoreless second-quarter setback, courtesy of Nikola Jaksic’s heroics coming into the second half and never look
back the rest of the way to inch a step closer towards their back-to-back title.

The 27-year-old mighty driver Nikola Jaksic steamrolled Serbia’s offensive load with his three-out-of-three
performance output while getting great help from the Dusan Mandic-Andrija Prainovic duo who added a sic combined
points in their team’s winning effort.

Serbia’s team captain came out big as Filip Filipovic continued his consistent form, anchoring the team with 2
goals including their opening point in the sixth-minute mark.

Defending champs team coach Savic felt nothing but euphoria in their late-game surge victory as it showed the
whole team’s seniority and hardship in their training in the said sporting event.

“I am emotionally empty, just done. It was an amazing journey. In the first half, the execution wasn't there. I
made a preparation the past two weeks but the second half was a whole different team and I’m glad we outrebounded
them and that was the key part coming off with the win," said Savic after the match.

South Korea started aggressive like a hungry wolf with a 6-3 commanding head start but the Greeks roared back
to life when it mattered the most.

Greece found its rhythm right from the get-go as captain Ioannis Fountoulis dominated the second quarter
inside the paint against Serbia's towering defense with guards Dusko Pijetlovic and Milan Aleksić providing floor spacing
to zoom to a 4-to-2 run, pulling the game to a deciding 7-7 deadlock.

After tying the game at seven, Serbia, highlighted by Andrija Prainovic, started to get things going in favor of
defending champs as they posted excellent gameplay to crawl back from 7 square off into a slim 10-9 coming into the
fourth quarter.

The atmosphere intensified in the last salvo as the Greeks somehow got it going where they scored a point
courtesy of center back Dimitrios Skoumpakis, but it wasn’t enough to scare Serbia after Prlainovic fired his penalty shot,
joining Jaksic and Mandic in their offensive actions shot goals, ending their nip-and-tuck affair at 13-10.

Fueled by the roaring cheers inside the jam-packed arena, Serbia’s water polo team hung their flag in the arc to
end the match with glory on their side.

“This was for most of us the last dance (along with six other Serbian players). I’m very happy and satisfied. I
couldn’t imagine the end of my national team career in a better way like this. We knew that it will be quite a hard
journey for us,” said Serbia’s team captain and back-to-back finals MVP, Filip Filipovic in a post-match interview.

Despite the tough loss in the finals, the Greeks remain head high and confident as they bagged their second
Olympic silver medal in team sports after four editions of the quadrennial sporting event.

“It was a tough game. We tried our best, we gave everything we have. We knew it, but every team wants to be
first. We couldn’t do it, but we’re very happy for our silver medal, and we hope in the future we can win the gold,” 21-
year-old silver medalist Konstantinos Gkiouvetsis said.

With the win, Serbia became the first country to sustain as Olympic champion since Hungary achieved a three in
a row victory from 2000 to 2008.

Serbia also tallied its fourth medal in its fourth appearance in the Olympic’s oldest team sports.

# (30)
TNT on verge of ending six-year title drought after Game 4 romp
TNT moved on the cusp of the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup title after dominating Magnolia, 106-
89, on Wednesday night in Game 4 at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor,
Pampanga.
Mikey Williams led the way with 26 points and seven assists on his 30th birthday, but it was
his teammates led by Ryan Reyes who delivered the telling blows in a first-half breakaway that led to
the 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven finals.
Reyes scored 10 points for TNT, all in the second quarter, as he sparked a 11-0 finishing kick
that enabled the Tropang Giga to open an 18-point spread, 57-39, at the break.
TNT was never seriously threatened from there as it led by as many as 25 points in the decisive
win that moved the flagship franchise of the MVP group on the verge of ending a six-year title drought
in Game Five on Friday, 6 p.m.
Four playersscored in double figures for TNT with Jayson Castro scoring 12 points, and Dave
Marcelo contributing 10 rebounds and five rebounds in the game that saw Troy Rosario, who suffered
a dislocated left pinkie in Game 3, start for the Tropang GIGA.
Three players in RR Pogoy, Poy Erram, and Brian Heruela each had nine points apiece in a
balanced scoring attack for TNT.
Mikey finishes the job
Coming off a performance where he scored 39 points including 10 threes, Williams, who lost the Best
Player of the Conference plum to Calvin Abueva, hit a three at the 8:44 mark of the third to stake TNT
to its biggest lead in the game at 68-43.
Williams ended a late threat by Magnolia, scoring the fourth of his six three-pointers with 2:33
left to give TNT a 100-83 lead. The TNT rookie also converted two more threes to turn the rest of the
game into garbage time.
“Our team is constructed in such a way that we have no first group or second group," said TNT
coach Chot Reyes. "We have 15 guys and anyone who is asked to come in to play a role is accountable
to deliver.”
Rosario played for 19 minutes and scored five points and three rebounds despite his struggles
to even control the ball due to the finger injury.
TNT’s win spoiled Abueva’s effort on a night he received the BPC plum. Abeuva had 28 points,
six rebounds, and two steals as Magnolia failed to sustain the momentum after a rousing 106-98
victory in Game 3.
Ian Sangalang had 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Paul Lee added 15 points for Magnolia,
whose biggest lead was at five at 24-19 only for TNT to respond to tie the score at the end of the first
quarter.
The closest Magnolia got was 14 points, 97-83, after Mark Barroca scoring 10 of his 13 points in
the final quarter.
The scores:
TNT 106 – M. Williams 26, Castro 12, Reyes 10, Marcelo 10, Erram 9, Heruela 9, Pogoy 9,
Montalbo 8, K. Williams 6, Rosario 5, Khobuntin 2.
Magnolia 89 – Abueva 28, Sangalang 17, Lee 15, Barroca 13, Dela Rosa 11, Reavis 3, Jalalon 2,
Corpuz 0, Melton 0, Ahanmisi 0, De Leon 0, Pascual 0, Dionisio 0.
Quarters: 24-24; 57-39; 82-67; 106-89.
PBA: TNT ends 6-year title drought
with Game 5 thrashing of Magnolia
Talk 'N Text overpowered Magnolia on Friday night, 94-79, to end their duel and claim the PBA Philippine Cup title
at the Don Honorio Ventura State University.

It was a sweet victory for coach Chot Reyes and his wards who ended a six-year title drought for the Tropang GIGA
by sealing the best-of-seven title series against Magnolia, 4-1.

Mikey Williams and RR Pogoy made much of the damage against the Hotshots, scoring 24 and 19 points,
respectively.

Williams put on a shooting display, going 8-of-20 from the field and draining four triples.

After initially figuring in a tight match in the onset of the first quarter, TNT smothered Magnolia to take a 47-33 lead
going to the second half.

Ian Sangalang and Best Player of the Conference Calvin Abueva tried to rally the Hotshots in the second half but
they failed to get any closer than 15 points against the methodical Texters.

TNT led by as much as 25 points and by the last two minutes, it was already clear who was taking home the title.

Jayson Castro had 10 points for the Texters, while Ryan Reyes and Troy Rosario scored nine points each.

Sangalang led the way for Magnolia with 18 markers. Abueva added 14.

Paul Lee, who was nursing a bad shoulder, settled for seven points.

"I have to give this award really to the players. They really really put in the effort and stayed together through the
adversity," said Reyes, who came back in this season's Philippine Cup after being away for years. "This is a great
reward for all their hardships."

"To the fans maraming maraming salamat po, although we can't see you we can feel you... As much as we want to
savor this we are looking forward on to the next and hope we can compete well again."

It was TNT's eighth championship overall and sixth in the all-Filipino after previously winning it in seasons 2003,
2008-09, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13.

It was Reyes' eighth PBA title and sixth in the Philippine Cup.