Running of the Bull ends

ANTIPOLO CITY – Comebacking Paul Alvarez and Fil-Italian Alex Crisano stepped up when Asi Taulava struggled in offense as Talk ’N Text smashed erstwhile unbeaten Batang Red Bull, 77-67, yesterday to enhance its bid in the Selecta PBA All Filipino Cup at the Yñares Center here.

Alvarez, formerly of FedEx, took care of things in the second quarter as he erupted for 15 of his 17 points, including five triples while Crisano teamed up with Taulava in a vicious third quarter run that erased an 11-point deficit.

"If not for Bong, we would have trailed by 15 to 20 points in the first half and without Alex helping Asi inside, we would not have won this one," said Talk ’N Text coach Paul Woolpert.

Taulava, who finished with 14 points on a seven-of-23 shooting clip, and Crisano, who made his presence felt in the shaded area, catapulted Talk ’N Text from 40-51 deficit to a 60-57 lead going into the final period.

From there, the Thunder were a different team as they could not get their offense going, struggling for only 20 points after torching the Pals with 47 points in the first half.

"I challenged the team at halftime and I feel very good that they responded well in the second half," said Woolpert. "This win shows us a glimpse of how good a team we can be."

With the win, the Phone Pals moved a step closer to the Thunder, who have beaten them in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, 4-3, and the Coca-Cola Tigers, tied at the helm with 4-1 slates.

Talk ’N Text, now 5-5 in its head-to-head duel with Yeng Guiao’s charges, tallied its first back-to-back wins this conference while putting a stop to Red Bull’s four-game winning streak.