MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text cranked up its run-and-gun game again last night and made a decisive run in the second quarter to wallop San Miguel Beer, 99-77, for the pivotal 3-2 lead in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven showdown at the Araneta Coliseum.
Torching the Beermen with a fiery shooting in the last three quarters, the Texters checked their two-game slide and regained the lead in the series which they can win either in Game Six tomorrow or Game Seven Sunday.
“Before the game, we talked about getting ready to play 96 minutes of good basketball. We’ve got 50 percent of the job done. On Friday, we’ll try to get the final half of our goal done,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.
“It’s good to be 3-2 up but everybody in the locker room fully understands we have one more step to take. Hopefully, we can get that in the next game,” said TnT ace guard Jimmy Alapag, providing the team a big spark playing off the bench.
It was one of the key adjustments made by Talk n Text which helped the team move to the threshold of a third championship.
“We press a lot. We wanted to save Jimmy’s energy. We didn’t want him to lose energy chasing Paul Artadi. Fortunately, it worked,” said Reyes.
Alapag churned out a near triple-double job with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and struck hardest when they made a decisive turnaround in the second period.
The other Talk n Text stars had their moments later, helping the team keep a searing pace and enabling the Texters to lead by as many as 27 points towards the end.
“We failed to match the level of their energy,” rued San Miguel coach Ato Agustin.
“The series, however, is definitely not yet over. We’ve overhauled a 0-2 deficit in the series. We’ve won two straight games and I think we can do it again,” Agustin added.
Ranidel de Ocampo led all scorers with 20 points, including TnT’s first nine points in the fourth quarter, while Jason Castro contributed 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds while Reyes added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Larry Fonacier joined the fray in the payoff period, rifling in three straight triples as Talk n Text pulled away with a 93-70 lead entering the last four minutes of play.
Talk n Text hit its stride in the second quarter, converting 66.7 percent of its shots to erase a 13-point deficit and take an eight-point spread at the half.
Alapag knocked in three of four three-point tries while De Ocampo accounted for eight of Talk n Text’s 38-point output in the second period.
It was Talk n Text’s largest output in a quarter in the entire tourney.
Curiously, the Texters made only 14 in the first canto, matching their lowest in a quarter in the conference.
The Beermen played better at the start, taking the first period at 23-14 then enjoying a 13-point bulge at 27-14 as Dorian Peña and Arwind Santos pumped in a basket each to start the second quarter.
It had appeared the Beermen would dominate the game when the Texters made a key turnaround in the second period, racing ahead, 52-44, at halftime.
Ali Peek scored a basket on a pick-and-roll play with Alapag to close the first half.
Moments earlier, Peek drew a technical foul for arm-locking Peña. Though bigger, Peña couldn’t get away from Peek in a tense moment that silenced the cheering crowd for a while.
Dondon Hontiveros banged in three straight treys in the second period, preventing Talk n Text from pulling away early.
“Before the game, we talked about getting ready to play 96 minutes of good basketball. We’ve got 50 percent of the job done. On Friday, we’ll try to get the final half of our goal done,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.
“It’s good to be 3-2 up but everybody in the locker room fully understands we have one more step to take. Hopefully, we can get that in the next game,” said TnT ace guard Jimmy Alapag, providing the team a big spark playing off the bench.
It was one of the key adjustments made by Talk n Text which helped the team move to the threshold of a third championship.
“We press a lot. We wanted to save Jimmy’s energy. We didn’t want him to lose energy chasing Paul Artadi. Fortunately, it worked,” said Reyes.
Alapag churned out a near triple-double job with 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and struck hardest when they made a decisive turnaround in the second period.
The other Talk n Text stars had their moments later, helping the team keep a searing pace and enabling the Texters to lead by as many as 27 points towards the end.
“We failed to match the level of their energy,” rued San Miguel coach Ato Agustin.
“The series, however, is definitely not yet over. We’ve overhauled a 0-2 deficit in the series. We’ve won two straight games and I think we can do it again,” Agustin added.
Ranidel de Ocampo led all scorers with 20 points, including TnT’s first nine points in the fourth quarter, while Jason Castro contributed 17 points, eight assists and four rebounds while Reyes added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Larry Fonacier joined the fray in the payoff period, rifling in three straight triples as Talk n Text pulled away with a 93-70 lead entering the last four minutes of play.
Talk n Text hit its stride in the second quarter, converting 66.7 percent of its shots to erase a 13-point deficit and take an eight-point spread at the half.
Alapag knocked in three of four three-point tries while De Ocampo accounted for eight of Talk n Text’s 38-point output in the second period.
It was Talk n Text’s largest output in a quarter in the entire tourney.
Curiously, the Texters made only 14 in the first canto, matching their lowest in a quarter in the conference.
The Beermen played better at the start, taking the first period at 23-14 then enjoying a 13-point bulge at 27-14 as Dorian Peña and Arwind Santos pumped in a basket each to start the second quarter.
It had appeared the Beermen would dominate the game when the Texters made a key turnaround in the second period, racing ahead, 52-44, at halftime.
Ali Peek scored a basket on a pick-and-roll play with Alapag to close the first half.
Moments earlier, Peek drew a technical foul for arm-locking Peña. Though bigger, Peña couldn’t get away from Peek in a tense moment that silenced the cheering crowd for a while.
Dondon Hontiveros banged in three straight treys in the second period, preventing Talk n Text from pulling away early.
