Phone Pals tame Tigers

A prolific import, a returning center and a new guard recruit gave Talk n Text a big lift as it kept its mastery of Coca-Cola, making it three in a row in their head-on duels in the 2006-07 PBA season with a 102-87 victory last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Import James Sullinger came through with a huge double-double performance with 35 points and 12 rebounds and the comebacking Don Allado and new acquisition Egay Billones provided solid backup jobs carrying the Pals into the win-column in the season-ending Fiesta Cup.

Coach Derrick Pumaren, however, thought his Pals played well as a team as they bounced back from a 94-98 loss to the Alaska Milk Aces a week ago, handing the Tigers their first loss in three starts.

"We had better shot selections tonight than in our game against Alaska. We moved the ball around very well and looked for open spots," said Pumaren.

In the nightcap, Air21 pounced on San Miguel Beer’s lethargic game and carved out an 88-78 victory in what became Vidal Massiah’s farewell performance in the local pro league.

CBA veteran Paul McMillan is to arrive today and is joining San Miguel as it takes on Red Bull in a road game in Tubod, Lanao del Norte Saturday.

"Defensively, we made the right adjustments in the second half and there was Egay Billones hounding Denok Miranda all night. Miranda couldn’t set up their offense," Pumaren added.

Billones, picked up from the free agent pool to fill in the spot of Jimmy Alapag, also made his presence felt offensively, firing clutch three-pointers to help fuel the team’s fourth-quarter breakaway.

The former Las Pinas College ace guard scored all his 12 points in the final canto, including two three-pointers in a telling 14-2 run that had the team taking command at 90-78.

Allado, playing his first game after injuring his left hand during their Philippine Cup semifinal showdown with the Barangay Ginebra Kings, also made an impact, logging 10 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Anthony Johnson led all scorers with 39 points but longed for support from his local teammates.

Sullinger produced his points while also making things happen for his teammates as he had the last laugh in his fiery shootout with Johnson.

"He’s still adjusting and I do believe he can do a lot more for us. Gagaling pa yan," said Pumaren of Sullinger.

Meanwhile, Red Bull and Alaska Milk dispute the solo lead in the tourney as they clash at 7 p.m. today at the Olivarez Gym in Paranaque.