Import Ricardo Ratliffe makes his debut for Star Hotshots. Photo: PBA Media Bureau
MANILA, Philippines – The Star Hotshots overhauled a double-digit first half deficit to bring down Tropang TNT, 96-88, for their second win of the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Hotshots, featuring new import Ricardo Ratliffe, trailed by as much as 18 points, 15-33, in the second quarter but steadily chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 51 heading into the halftime break.
Down 66-73 entering the final quarter, the Hotshots unleased a 13-6 run capped by a triple by Allein Maliksi to tie the game at 79-all. They took the lead for good with 5:32 to go on a jumper by James Yap that made it 83-81.
TNT still had a chance to tie the game when Maliksi fouled Jayson Castro with 1:19 to go, but Castro flubbed both free throws to allow Star to retain an 89-97 advantage. Maliksi’s then drained the dagger triple with over a minute remaining to give the Hotshots a 92-87 lead that the Tropa were unable to trim.
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Maliksi came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points, going 6-of-6 from beyond the arc to tie the PBA record for most three-point makes without a miss in a single game.
Ratliffe, in his debut, had 23 points and 13 rebounds while outplaying TNT import David Simon who had 12 points and 14 boards.
Castro led Tropang TNT with 18 points.
Star and TNT are now tied in the league standings with 2-4 records.
The scores:
STAR 96 – Maliksi 29, Ratliffe 23, Yap 10, Melton 8, Barroca 6, Pascual J. 6, Pingris 6, Pascual R. 3, Simon 3, Reavis 2, Sanggalang 0, Taha 0.
TROPANG TNT 88 – Castro 18, De Ocampo 15, Simon 12, Ababou 11, Tautuaa 11, Fonacier 6, Rosser 6, Williams 4, Reyes 3, Rosario 2, Aban 0.
Quarters: 13-26, 51-51, 66-73, 96-88
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Star rallies to down TNT for second win – #JHedzWorlD
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