KaTropa fire 18 treys TNT burns Phoenix

MANILA, Philippines – TNT KaTropa dropped long bombs on Phoenix Pulse in the final canto to collar their third straight triumph, 123-118, and tie idle NLEX atop the PBA Governors Cup standings last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The KaTropa burned the hoops with eight booming triples in the last 12 minutes to seize an 11-point cushion en route to the follow-up victory to their earlier conquests of Blackwater and Rain or Shine.

KJ McDaniels and Troy Rosario (six treys) led a fiery offensive with 32 points apiece while  RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro also contributed heavily with 22 and 20, respectively, for a TNT squad that shot 60 percent from beyond the arc (18 of-30 overall)

“Offensively we’re there but our defense wasn’t good. We can’t afford to allow our opponents 118 points like tonight. It should be 100 points or less. We need to improve defensively,” said TNT coach Bong Ravena.

Matthew Wright (30) and Eugene Phelps (29) paced Phoenix, which slipped to 1-3.

Earlier, CJ Perez got the better of his matchup with fellow top rookie and Gilas Pilipinas breakout star Robert Bolick as Columbian Dyip turned back NorthPort, 114-108, to crack the Top 4.

Perez erupted for 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, sparking a major turnaround for the Dyip in the third quarter en route to a come-from-behind verdict over the Batang Pier, who were led by Bolick’s 23-7-10.

Khapri Alston (25-16-1) and Rashawn McCarthy (18) complemented Perez while Eric Camson made a big impact off the bench with 14 spiked by three triples plus eight rebounds to put Columbian back on track after a 90-96 heartbreaker to Rain or Shine last time for a 2-1 card overall.

Notes: Rain or Shine (1-2) and Alaska (0-3) tapped new imports ahead of their fourth assignments tomorrow. The E-Painters hired Kayel Locke in place of Joel Wright while the Aces named basketball and football athlete Franco House to replace the injured Justin Watts.