MANILA, Philippines -- Jayson Castro delivered 33 big points including the most telling blows as the Talk n Text Tropang Texters turned back the Star Hotshots, 91-86, on Saturday night at the Quezon Convention Center for their third straight win in the 2015 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup.
Castro hit five straight points - a three-pointer and an easy layup off a steal - in a critical juncture of the fourth quarter after the Hotshots came within a single point, 83-82. Castro's five-point cluster coupled with Mo Tautuaa's thunderous breakaway slam gave them the separation they needed to post their third win in four games and forcing a five-way logjam on top with San Miguel Beer, Alaska, GlobalPort and Rain or Shine.
Castro, named the best point guard in Asia in the last two FIBA Asia Championships, was scorching hot in this game sinking 5-of-9 from beyond the arc and 50 percent (12-of-24) of his shots overall.
Justin Melton paced the Hotshots with a career-high 25 points connecting all of his five tries from the three-point zone in the first three quarters. Marc Pingris and two more Star players chipped in double figures that only went for naught as the Hotshots fell to 2-3.
The Scores:
TNT 91 - Castro 33 Fonacier 10, Reyes 9, Rosario 9, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Tautuaa 8, Carey4, Seigle 4, Miranda 3, Aban 2.
STAR 86 - Melton25, Pingris 17, Simon 11, Barroca 10, Yap 9, Sangalang 6, Mallari5, Torres 2, Pascual1, Taha 0, Maliksi 0.
Quarters: 26-25, 52-44, 70-62, 91-86.