Mikey Williams powers TNT past Meralco to stay perfect

Mikey Williams came up big for the TNT Tropang Giga as they torched the Meralco Bolts, 91-76, in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga, on Friday, September 3.

Williams, the fourth pick in the recent PBA Draft, exploded for a career-high 27 points on 5-of-10 shooting from downtown as the Tropang Giga remained unbeaten in the conference and stretched their winning streak to five games.

After blowing out the Blackwater Bossing just two days ago, the Tropang Giga came out firing from the get-go and wasted little time in flashing their dominance over the Bolts as they built a massive 28-point lead at halftime, 54-26.

The Bolts managed to trim the deficit to just 11 points, 76-65, early in the final frame, but the lead that the Tropang Giga built was simply too much for Meralco to overcome.

“We talked about it at halftime, our objective was to try to win the second half. Obviously, we failed in that target,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.

“Fortunately, we had a big enough lead. We knew that Meralco was going to come back, we watched very intently how they got their [win] the last time out and we knew their ability to come back,” he added.

RR Pogoy added 20 points for the Tropang Giga, while Jayson Castro put up 14 points in the victory.

John Pinto finished with 16 points, while Reynel Hugnatan tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds for Meralco, which saw its three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 5-2 in the standings. 

The Scores

TNT 91 – Williams 27, Pogoy 20, Castro 14, Erram 9, Khobuntin 8, Heruela 5, Rosario 4, K. Williams 4, Montalbo 0, Alejandro 0, Marcelo 0.

Meralco 76 – Pinto 16, Hugnatan 14, Black 8, Hodge 8, Belo 6, Quinto 6, Newsome 5, Caram 4, Maliksi 3, Almazan 2, Pasaol 2, Jamito 2, Jackson 0, Jose 0.

Quarters: 22-13, 54-26, 74-59, 91-76.

– Rappler.com