Heading takes over as TNT dispatches ROS to reach third straight PBA Finals
At A Glance
- TNT rode a strong finishing kick and dispatched Rain or Shine, 97-89, to book a third straight Finals appearance, and, more importantly, get a shot at the prestigious Grand Slam in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday, July 6.
TNT rode a strong finishing kick and dispatched Rain or Shine, 97-89, to book a third straight Finals appearance, and, more importantly, get a shot at the prestigious Grand Slam in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday, July 6.
Jordan Heading presided over a deciding 14-2 run inside the last five minutes to help the Tropang 5G pull away from an 80-all and reach the Finals despite missing the services of key players RR Pogoy, Kelly Williams, Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac.
The lefty gunner, who TNT acquired just before the playoffs, fired eight of his game-high 29 points during that deciding run in the waning minutes.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser provided support with 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks while Glenn Khobuntin, who had a late game altercation with Jhonard Clarito, added a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Kim Aurin chipped in 13 while Calvin Oftana had a relatively quiet night with 12 though he had the crucial and-1 that triggered the run in the final frame.
A dunk from Ganuelas-Rosser and a triple from Heading made it an 88-80 count before Caelan Tiongson stopped the bleeding with a layup. But that hardly bothered TNT which fired another six straight points to take the fight out of ROS.
Tiongson left everything on the floor to try and help the Elasto Painters force a Game 7 but his 30 points went futile in the end.