The TnT Tropang Giga routed the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots, 88-70, in Game One of their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals series on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
TnT blew past Magnolia early in the contest and never looked back after to gain the early lead in the championship series of the ongoing Philippine Basketball Association tournament.
The Tropang Giga opened the proceedings with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the match, which it used to build a 24-14 advantage after the first quarter.
In the second frame, the Hotshots continued with their offensive struggles and TnT capitalized on it to build an even bigger lead by the halftime break, 53-34.
TnT’s juggernaut continued at the start of the second half, with the team outscoring Magnolia, 20-7, in the opening seven minutes of the third quarter to extend its lead to 32 points, 73-41.
Magnolia would not recover after that.
Rookie Mikey Williams led the way for TnT in the win, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
JP Erram had 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks while Kelly Williams had points.
For Magnolia it was Paul Lee who top-scored with 12 points while Calvin Abueva had a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards.
As a team, however, the Hotshots only shot 27% (16-of-53) for the game.
Game Two of the finals is on Friday at 6 p.m. – Michael Angelo S. Murillo