Pals nose out Tigers in thriller

Alex Carcamo missed the front-end of his two key charities with no time left, and Coca-Cola allowed Talk n Text to complete an amazing comeback from a 26-point deficit, escaping with an 82-81 nail-biter in the San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Carcamo’s first free throw off a foul by Mark Telan at the buzzer automatically dashed the Tigers’ hope for an overtime in the contest which they ironically dominated early on by pounding a poor start by the Phone Pals.

The Phone Pals didn’t taste the lead until Damien Cantrell scored on a layup on an assist by Jimmy Alapag with four seconds to go, and the team kept the lead to the finish on Carcamo’s missed free throw.

Carcamo, a former Belize national player, ended up the goat in what could well be his farewell game with the Tigers. Coca-Cola, which slid to 1-3, was expecting former University of Texas-El Paso standout Omar Thomas to arrive late last night.

"I was telling my players to prepare for the overtime although I was hoping he (Carcamo) missed the free throw. And what a relief for us as he did miss," said coach Joel Banal as his Phone Pals stretched their searing start in the tourney to four games.

Cantrell groped for form but was able to convert the biggest shot of the game, giving Talk n Text an 82-80 edge with four ticks left in the contest.

Alapag ignited Talk n Text’s fightback from a 26-point deficit at 33-59, scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter and issuing two assists in a decisive five-point binge in the closing seconds that broke the back of the Tigers. The wiry point guard finished with a game-high 23 points on top of 10 assists, three rebounds and one steal

Alapag took charge for the Phone Pals with Cantrell and Asi Taulava both struggling in the contest. Cantrell finished with only 13 points on 5-of-16 field-goal shooting and Taulava just four points on 2-of-8 shooting clip.

Willie Miller, playing only his second game after a bout with an injured heel, made his presence felt in the third quarter by rattling in 10 points, helping the Phone Pals cut their 26-point deficit to 17, 50-67, going into the final quarter.

The Phone Pals drew even closer at 60-67 on an 8-0 binge by Alapag and Mark Telan to start the payoff period.

The Tigers were still sitting on a seven-point cushion at 76-69 when Cantrel, Alapag and Harvey Carey scored two apiece as the Phone Pals came threateningly close at 75-76 with still 1:55 left to play.

Meanwhile, Purefoods seeks to firm up its hold of second place behind Talk n Text as it takes on Barangay Ginebra in a road showcase at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan de Oro at 4:30 p.m. today.