THE undefeated TNT Tropang Giga clobbered winless Blackwater Bossing, 96-76, at the restart of the Philippine Basketball Association's (PBA) rumble yesterday, September 1, during the opener of the triple-header at the Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The TNT Gigas took off the bench red hot, outpacing the Blackwater Bossings in the first quarter, 28-18, but cooled off during the second, as the Bossing gunners shot off volleys to take the quarter at 25-9. But TNT never looked back after a third quarter rally, 37-17, to build the 20-point lead at the end of the fourth quarter, 22-16.
TNT Giga remains neat in its winning card, 4-0, while Blackwater Bossing remains winning less after five games of the PH Cup.
As of this posting, the San Miguel Beermen (3-1), were taking on the also winless Terrafirma Dyip (0-4) with the 3:00 p.m. before the Magnolia Hotshots (4-0) battle the Meralco Bolts (4-1) in the mainer at 6:00 p.m., with both squads hoping to sustain gains in the initial salvo of the tourney in its original venue in Pasig.
"We have high spirits and high morale. We're very excited to play but of course, we need to do things gradually in terms of getting back our conditioning and timing so we can minimize injuries," said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero. "Medyo dikit dikit na yung games dito but I think we're ready to battle."
The NorthPort Batang Pier basketball team, though, shall not see action this week (September 1-5) in accordance with the league's health and safety protocols.
Back to the hoop
After being on the shelf for almost a month after the league decided to suspend its games due to the rise of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in the country, the PBA restarted the 46th season here.
Clean results of the Covid-19 tests last Monday paved the way for the games to restart on Wednesday. The PBA players and staff will be observing augmented health and safety protocols where violators are to face stiff sanctions. Part of the guidelines is a regular RT-PCR test every Monday plus antigen testing the morning of every game day.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial and the members of the PBA board of governors expressed their gratitude to Pampanga Governor Dennis Pineda, Pampanga Third District Representative Aurelio "Dong" Gonzales, Jr. and to the different members of the DHVSU board of trustees for their support allowing the restart of the tourney stalled by the shift to a strict quarantine status in NCR plus area. (JTD)