Jayson Castro connected a timely triple in the endgame as the TNT Tropang Giga pulled off a 98-91 victory over the Converge FiberXers in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
After seeing their double-digit lead cut to 91-93 by a furious Converge fourth-quarter run, Castro converted a top of the key three-pointer against the defense of FiberXers’ Alec Stockton to extend TNT’s lead to 96-91.
Stockton then turned the ball over in the next possession, which allowed the Tropang Giga to seal the win courtesy of an inside basket by Calvin Oftana with 28 seconds left in the game.
Castro finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists to be named Player of the Game as the Tropang Giga tied the Meralco Bolts on top of Pool B with a 5-1 win-loss slate.
Tropang Giga head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes said the match was a great opportunity for his team to learn from the mistakes during their 96-95 loss to the FiberXers on August 27, where Converge import Scotty Hopson drilled a game-winning four-pointer.
“This game is an opportunity for us to learn from what happened during our previous meeting with Converge; we are up big at the half, and we should defend well in the second half,” Reyes said.
“But, since Converge has a good team, very well-coached, they made some adjustments in the second half, and we expected this; we just made sure that we can execute when we need to execute,” he added.
The FiberXers, on the other hand, dropped to a 2-4 win-loss card with the defeat.
The post Jayson Castro clutch as TNT survives Converge first appeared on Fastbreak.
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