MANILA – TNT booked the first seat in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals after clobbering Converge, 116-95, in their quarterfinal game on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Only needing to win once to qualify, the Tropang Giga were almost unstoppable in the first half, going 25-for-37 from the field including an 11-for-18 clip from long range for 70 points even as they opened a 28-point lead at halftime.
TNT would stretch its lead a bit further to 33 in the second half and never looked back from there.
Mikey Williams, who was not around during their first meeting on June 12 that was decided on Jayson Castro's game-winner, exploded early on and finished with 26 points, 24 in the first half, one rebound, and four assists, while Troy Rosario added 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds, and one steal for the Tropang Giga, who will face either the Magnolia Hotshots or the NLEX Road Warriors in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Magnolia, 1-0 up in its best-of-three series against NLEX, can book its own spot in the Final 4 round in Game 2 on Friday night at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Tyrus Hill put up 16 markers and two boards off the bench for the FiberXers.
In the second game, San Miguel booked its own place in the semifinals after drubbing Blackwater, 123-93, in their quarterfinal game.
The outcome was already decided in the first quarter, where SMB raced to a 32-13 lead over Blackwater.
While the Bossing got their offense going in the next quarters, the Beermen's steadiness was just too much.
Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez each scored 18 points for SMB, which joined TNT as the first two teams into the semifinals.
June Mar Fajardo, the current frontrunner in the Best Player of the Conference race, added 11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and two steals.
Ato Ular put up 15 markers, 11 boards, one block, and one steal for Blackwater, which finished the conference on a six-game losing streak after a 5-1 start. (PNA)
