Veteran wingman Don Trollano donned the hero’s cape for NLEX as he sank a difficult pull-up jumper with 2.2 seconds left to push the Road Warriors past the TNT Tropang Giga, 90-89, on Thursday in the PBA Season 47 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center.
Trollano’s heroic moment capped off a thrilling comeback by NLEX that saw them rally from a 12-point deficit in the fourth canto and improve their win-loss record to 2-1.
Calvin Oftana led NLEX with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals while Cebuano JR Quiñahan had 18 points and six boards.
“We expected na magiging mahirap ang laban ang TNT. Defending champion sila,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao,
Things looked bleak for NLEX as they faced a 66-78 deficit after birthday boy, Roger Pogoy’s explosive offensive performance. However, Kevin Alas had other ideas for the evening and scored 11 of his 16 markers in the fourth to tie the game up at 80-all.
The offensive-minded guard also scored five more including a free-throw that shoved NLEX in front, 88-87, with 39 seconds remaining. However, TNT forward Troy Rosario grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a putback to give the Tropang Giga back the lead, 89-88, with 8.2 left on the clock.
However, that proved to be more than enough time for Trollano to deliver the goods as he drove right and pulled up for a midrange jumper that found nothing but the bottom of the net.
TNT got a shot at nabbing the victory but Jayson Castro’s three-point try right before the final buzzer was off.
Pogoy finished with 28 points but TNT fell to 2-2. Kelly Williams, Rosario, and JP Erram added 11 points apiece.
