MANILA, Philippines – Roger Pogoy set the tone and Mikey Williams powered the finishing blow as TNT inched closer to the PBA Philippine Cup finals with a 102-84 win over Magnolia at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, August 10.

Pogoy scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half, while Williams dropped all of his 15 points in the last two quarters to propel the Tropang Giga to a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven clash.

Big man Poy Erram earned Best Player of the Game honors anew for TNT with 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Tropang Giga pulled away in the third period, where they outscored the Hotshots 28-16 to build a 70-54 cushion.

That lead grew to as big as 22 points in the final frame behind Williams, who punished Magnolia with 12 points – all on three-pointers – in the quarter.

Williams added 7 assists and 3 steals, while Troy Rosario put up 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists for the defending champions as they seemed to have broken the Hotshots’ confidence after gutting out a 93-92 Game 3 win.

Glenn Khobuntin also came up big for TNT by scoring all of his 9 points in their third-quarter explosion.

The hero in their Game 3 win, Jayson Castro finished with just 9 points and 4 assists, although he did not have to help carry the scoring load as Magnolia bled for its points.

Hotshots star Paul Lee turned in his best scoring performance in the semifinals with 17 points on a 6-of-13 shooting, but that went for naught after the team went cold from deep, making just 5 of its 24 triples for a poor 21%.

The Tropang Giga, on the other hand, drained 16 treys on a 43% shooting.

Ian Sangalang led Magnolia in scoring with 19 points and Aris Dionisio tallied 14 points.

Hobbled by foul trouble, Calvin Abueva proved to be a non-factor for Magnolia, churning out just 2 points to go with 6 assists and 3 rebounds.

The Scores

TNT 102 – Erram 19, Pogoy 18, M. Williams 15, Rosario 15, Khobuntin 9, Castro 9, Reyes 6, K. Williams 4, Cruz 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Alejandro 2, Montalbo 0, Marcelo 0, Banal 0, Tungcab 0.

Magnolia 84 – Sangalang 19, Lee 17, Dionisio 14, Reavis 7, Barroca 5, Dela Rosa 4, Jalalon 4, Wong 4, Corpuz 4, Abueva 2, Brill 2, Zaldivar 2, Ahanmisi 0, Laput 0, Escoto 0.

Quarters: 18-15, 42-38, 70-54, 102-84.

– Rappler.com