With the game on the line, you go to 'The Blur'.
TNT Tropang Giga took a 2-1 lead on Sunday over the Magnolia Hotshots in their 2022 PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series, thanks to a big-time three-point shot from Jayson Castro with two seconds left that gave them a pulsating 93-92 win.
It was a huge win for the defending champions Tropang Giga, who are now just two wins away from a return trip to the finals.
With Game 4 coming up fast on Wednesday, here's three main takeaways from Sunday's thriller.
'The Blur' delivers again
How many times has Castro bailed out TNT with a clutch basket?
'The Blur' has played his entire PBA career with the TNT franchise, and this game-winner could rank right up there among his clutch moments.
After Mark Barroca hit a patented banker to give Magnolia a 92-90 lead with less than ten seconds left, TNT quickly inbounded the ball to Castro, who used a couple of picks set by the Tropang Giga bigs to set up the go-ahead triple. It was vintage Blur.
"In the huddle, we spoke briefly about our defense, but we focused on our offense, or what we were going to do after because whatever happens whether Magnolia scored or not, we had to score," TNT coach Chot Reyes said.
"So that was run to the way exactly the way we wanted it. Quick inbound to Jayson. And then the bigs giving him a screen looking for opportunities and our shooters filling the corner.
Big shot after big shot!!!
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BUT what an ending!!! #PBAGameTayoDito pic.twitter.com/LncQm8modr
"So again, it turned out to be a good thing because Jayson made the shot. If he missed that, it would have been a different story. We talked about what we were going to do, when we get possession because we knew at 17 seconds the ball would come back.
"We had a foul to give. But we did the elected not to foul, because we wanted to make sure that the ball would come back to us."
Castro finished with 16 points and six assists and another career highlight.
The Tropang Giga don't lose their composure
This game was like a heavyweight title fight with both protagonists exchanging big blows.
Magnolia led after one quarter, 24-19, but TNT took a 47-41 lead into the halftime break. At the end of the third, the Hotshots were ahead again, 73-66.
The momentum swings were frequent, but ultimately the Tropang Giga caught a break after Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang both fouled out late.
"We have no illusions about this being an easy game or series by any stretch of the imagination. We knew that this was going to be a struggle, this is going to be a challenge all the way," Reyes added.
"So even when there were moments in the ballgame when we were down -- Magnolia had a couple of double digit leads -- we just kept our poise and we just kept telling our players to stay in the game and stay within what we do.
"We were just waiting for our opportunity. And I think that helped us in the end. We were trailing most of the game. And then we caught a break when Calvin and Ian fouled out. So we were able to take advantage of that to grab the lead.
"But then we also gave it up with some sloppy plays down in the end. But that's why we love sports, right? That's why we love this game.
"Ito iyong sinasabi natin na talo na, nanalo pa pero natalo na, nanalo pa. In the end, two evenly matched teams equally desiring to win, fight it out. In the end, it comes down to who will make the shot. So fortunately for us, tonight it was us."
Mikey, Pogoy don't shoot well, but TNT still gets the win
A big part of Magnolia's game plan has been to slow down Mikey Williams, and in Game 3 they succeeded somewhat, holding the prolific guard to only 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting.
No miss was bigger than a wide open layup that Williams flubbed that would have given TNT a 92-88 lead with one minute left.
Luckily for the Tropang Giga, Poy Erram (22 points) Castro (16) and Glenn Khobuntin (15) all stepped up to more than make up for the offensive struggles not only of Williams but of RR Pogoy (7 points on 2-of-10 shooting) as well.
"I think the guy who's playing excellent defense is Paul Lee," Reyes noted. "He's really defending Roger Pogoy very well the past two games, he's really giving Roger Pogoy a lot of problems. And that's something we have to solve.
"It's not only Mikey that they're defending, they're defending Jason, they're defending. They're defending Roger, and they're defending our other bigs so it's really going to take a team effort, a complete total team effort to get two more wins here.
"Our team culture, it really doesn't matter how many points you score, if your value to this team is to give up shots and to act like a decoy. Then that's what you need to get done.
"So Mikey is not going to be hot all the time. I almost fell off my seat when he missed that wide-open layup. But that's basketball, right? You miss a wide open layup like that, but you make a three-point shot under duress. So that's sports. That's why we love this game."