MANILA — The TNT KaTropa Texters used a stifling defense to finally put an end to San Miguel Beer's 11-game winning streak, hacking out an 87-85 victory over the defending champion in Game 2 of their best-of-7 PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series Friday night. TNT thus tied the series at 1-1 with Game 3 set Sunday. Jayson Castro was a key factor in the TNT win as he finished with a near triple-double of 10 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds. Troy Rosario came off the bench to dish out a team-high 14 points on top of five boards, and three assists. Ranidel de Ocampo added a double-double 13 markers and 13 rebounds. Three other Texters scored in double digits with Mo Tautuaa tallying 12 points and nine rebounds, RR Pogoy with 11 markers, and Larry Fonacier with 10. The Beermen absorbed only their second loss for the entire tournament. With TNT up by 11 points, 75-64, with 8:45 left in the game, three-time MVP June Mar Fajardo sparked a huge 18-5 SMB run, with his free throws giving the Beermen their first taste of the lead at 82-80. The Texters refused to wilt under pressure, with Castro and De Ocampo leading a 7-0 run to grab the lead back, 87-82. The Beermen kept coming back, with Alex Cabagnot draining three free throws off a Castro foul to cut TNT's lead down to two. After De Ocampo missed a three-point shot, SMB had a chance to tie the score and even regain the lead with a three-pointer. However, Santos lost the ball in a costly turnover after he was ganged up by De Ocampo and Fonacier. The Beermen still stayed in the game as Chris Ross stole the ball from De Ocampo after the latter hauled down an offensive rebound off a Rosario miss with five seconds left. But SMB failed to even make an attempt at the basket as TNT's defense blanketed the Beermen. Fajardo led SMB with 25 points and 11 boards, while Cabagnot added 24 markers in the losing effort. Game Saturday: Star Hotshots vs. Barangay Ginebra Kings (Game 2, best-of-7 semifinals, Star leads 1-0).
