TNT forges another playdate after surviving NLEX

TNT’s Bol Bol (left) puts up a shot against NLEX’s David Semerad. —MARLO CUETO

TNT managed to force another playdate into its PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign by coming up with a tournament-saving victory on Wednesday.

Now, the Tropang Giga will have to squeeze out one more win against a formidable top seed to validate its preconference status as a favorite to win the title.

And it’s not going to get easier.

“We’re happy with this win, but we need a lot of improvement to get to the next stage,” coach Chot Reyes said after TNT’s 96-93 victory over NLEX at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

For starters, the Tropang 5G led by as many as 10 and were up seven midway through the fourth, but lost control of the match amid a furious rally by the Road Warriors.

And to think that somewhere at the tail end of that fight-back, NLEX lost main man Robert Bolick to fouls.

Bol Bol had a split at the stripe for a 94-93 lead, and the Tropang 5G survived a crucial turnover by veteran Jayson Castro to forge the victory and force NLEX to fish out its twice-to-beat card.

NLEX had two chances to reverse the outcome, but LJ Gonzales missed a pressured four-pointer, and Schonny Winston blew a midrange jumper he had a clean look at, allowing TNT to set another practice date.

A first for TNT

Bol finished with another double-double, collecting 34 points and 14 rebounds to lead TNT, which also got solid support from its locals. Calvin Oftana chipped in 19, RR Pogoy had 15 and Castro added 14 for the Tropang 5G.

“I think this is the first game in the whole conference where we had those three guys hit double digits,” said Reyes.

“The three of them got double figures, and as long as we can get that help around Bol, then we give ourselves better chances of winning.”

Bolick finished with 15 points, four assists and three rebounds for NLEX.

“It’s a big factor that Bolick wasn’t there in the endgame,” Reyes said.

Cady Lalanne led the Road Warriors with 17 points and 15 rebounds, but missed a free throw that would have put his team up by one late in the game. Young guns Xyrus Torres and Gonzales added 14 and 13, respectively.