Castro provides finishing touches as TNT eliminates Magnolia, secures first finals spot

THERE was no buzzer-beating game-winner for Jayson Castro this time.

Just a methodical, workmanlike effort for "The Blur" in leading TNT to a 87-74 win over Magnolia Sunday and into the finals of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Castro notched a game-high 26 points which he capped with a triple, reminiscent of his Game 3 heroic, that gave the Tropang Giga an 80-72 cushion and highlighted their fiery 11-2 windup that also had Roger Pogoy completing a three-point play and Glenn Khobuntin also knocking in a 3.

Still, it was Castro's shot which seemed to have broken the Hotshots' resolve for good as they completely collapsed after that, enabling the defending champions to close out the best-of-seven series at 4-2.

TNT would also benefit from additional rest as their opponent in the championship series, also a race-to-four affair, would be known only after the deciding game between Meralco and San Miguel Beer on Wednesday.

"It was just the players resolving to not allow the other team to outwork them," said Tropa coach Chot Reyes after steering his team to a second finals in his first three conferences back at the helm.

Making the victory sweeter for TNT was the fact it was fashioned despite top center Poy Erram getting thrown out on an F2 call following a hard foul on Ian Sangalang that opened a cut on the latter's forehead, just a minute into the final canto.

The favor was returned a few minutes later, however, when Magnolia's Calvin Abueva was whistled for his sixth and final foul off a driving Khobuntin, who made the two charities to peg a 75-70 count, still 5:13 to go.

Despite that, the Hotshots still managed to make it a close contest, keeping within 72-76 off Rome dela Rosa's freebies before Mikey Williams' charity split heralded the former's impending collapse.

Williams still wound up with 15 points in spite shooting 5-for-16 for the second straight game with Khobuntin and Pogoy adding 14 points each with the latter spicing up his performance with five blocks.

Sangalang finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds with Abueva also making the same number of points but all of those scored in the first half.

Jio Jalalon came off the bench for 11 points and six rebounds while Paul Lee wound up with 10 points but only on 3-for-14 shooting.

Worse off was Mark Barroca, who scored 25 points in a 105-97 Game 5 victory last Friday but only three this time after going 1-for-10 from the field. He did have nine assists. (NC)

The Scores:

TNT 87 - Castro 26, M.Williams 15, Pogoy 14, Khobuntin 11, Erram 8, K.Williams 4, Rosario 4, Montalbo 2, Reyes 0, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.

Magnolia 74 - Sangalang 16, Abueva 16, Jalalon 11, Lee 10, Dela Rosa 6, Laput 4, Wong 3, Barroca 3, Dionisio 2, Escoto 2, Corpuz 1, Brill 1, Reavis 0, Ahanmisi 0, Zaldivar 0.

Quarters: 21-17, 42-34, 60-55, 87-74