TNT is going home after getting eliminated in the Abu Dhabi International Basketball Championship. The Tropang 5G won only one game in the tournament.
TNT didn’t have an answer as Al Riyadi sent the Tropang 5G home with a convincing 94-53 win in the Abu Dhabi International Basketball Championship on Thursday, October 2.
The Tropang 5G thus wrapped up their campaign in the UAE city.
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RR Pogoy was the lone Katropa who finished in double figures with 10 points on 1-of-4 shooting from beyond the three-point line.
Simon Enciso had seven points for TNT, which was simply outclassed by the powerhouse Lebanese team in the middle quarters, 53-21.
The Chot Reyes-mentored Tropang 5G, which won two championships in PBA Season 49, made only four in 36 attempts from the three-point line for 11 percent.
Apart from their shooting woes, TNT only dished out eight assists and grabbed 28 rebounds in the match that was seemingly determined after a seven-point third quarter output by the Tropang 5G.
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Meanwhile, Maurice Kemp kept battering TNT’s defense and ended up with 24 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
Hayk Gyokchyan had 19 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Ivan Buva added 18 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
TNT will now return home to focus on the Season 50 Philippine Cup that unfurls Sunday, October 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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The Tropang 5G, however, will make their season debut only five days later against Phoenix at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.