TNT displayed its full might and overpowered Magnolia, 102-84, to stand at the doorstep of a possible return trip to the Finals in Game 4 of their best-of-seven semifinals series in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday, Aug. 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Giga attacked from all fronts, inside the paint and beyond the arc with TNT big men led by JP Erram and Troy Rosario making the Hotshots pay for focusing too much on prolific guards in Jayson Castro and Mikey Williams to take a commanding 3-1 lead.
Erram finished with a team-high 19 points on top of 13 rebounds while Rosario added 15 points and eight boards as they benefited from the attention Williams had been getting especially in the first half when he was held scoreless.
When the Hotshots tried to clog the paint to stop the big men, the Tropang Giga then started connecting from the outside led by Williams who dropped all of his 15 points in the second half while RR Pogoy added 18, each of them drilling four triples in the lopsided affair.
Ian Sangalang paced the Hotshots with 19 points while Paul Lee chipped in 17 but were not enough to prevent Magnolia from falling to the 3-1 series hole.
TNT can close out the series in Game 5 on Friday still at the Big Dome.