Supercharged Texters outlast Aces, tie series

Talk n Text stoked the fire of its Game Three victory, overcoming Alaska Milk, 100-98, in a gripping duel last night to force a two-game standoff in their KFC PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven title duel at the Araneta Coliseum.

Showing the endgame poise missing in their game in Games One and Two, the Texters got away with the two-point win to follow up their 92-73 victory Sunday.

“We just made it a series again. It’s a new series in the sense that it’s down to a best-of-three but old in the sense that the same teams are fighting for it,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“We almost paid a price for our turnovers. Fortunately, we executed and converted our shots when we needed to,” said Reyes on his team surviving 19 turnovers.

Alaska coach Tim Cone said it came down to the Texters outmaneuvering the Aces down the stretch.

The Texters were ahead by only one at 89-88 when Jimmy Alapag, Ali Peek and Harvey Carey teamed up in a decisive 8-2 run giving TnT a 97-90 cushion with only 1:10 left to play.

Alapag finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three assists, Carey narrowly missed a double-double game with 17 points and nine rebounds with Peek winding up with eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and one assist.

Mark Cardona, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jared Dillinger and Jason Castro had significant contributions with all four tossing in at least 10 points.

Willie Miller had a solid all-round performance in the night he was named the Best Player of the Conference. Alas, he had crucial misses and an error hastened their downfall.

Playing small at the start as in the last game, the Texters held control most of the first half which ended at 56-54 in their favor.

They actually enjoyed a four-point lead plus ball possession in the closing seconds but Castro charged into Tony dela Cruz then Joe Devance converted a short stab making it a two-point game going into the second half.

Miller and Cardona engaged in a shootout early with the former knocking down 15 points and the latter 13 in the first 24 minutes of play.

Meanwhile, Burger King (formerly Air21) and the RP Smart Gilas team fought to a 95-95 tie in an exhibition match serving as Game Four curtain-raiser.

Mark Barroca, a promising guard from FEU, sizzled with 37 points. including key baskets at the finish, forcing the standoff.

After Barroca made it 95-all on a short jumper with time down to 16 seconds, the Nationals put up a defensive gem to seal the contest.

“We’re in a period of adjustment. The guys are not yet really in good shape as we’d had only about seven to eight practices. But that’s not an excuse to justify our performance,” said BK coach Yeng Guiao.

“We’re beaten by one man in Mark Barroca, but we’ll be ready for him Friday,” Guiao added.

The scores:

First Game

Burger King 95 — Santos 29, David 17, Baguio 17, Billones 8, Quinahan 6, Belga 6, Villanueva 4, Rodriguez 4, Arboleda 4, Cruz M., Cruz C. 0, Alonzo 0, Se 0.

Smart Gilas 95 — Barroca 37, Al-Hussaini 18, Baracael 16, Jazul 9, Cawaling 4, Guevarra 4, Slaughter 4, Buenafe 2, Tiu 1, Ballesteros 0.

Quarterscores: 28-19, 51-46, 70-71, 95-95

Second Game

Talk N’ Text 100 - Alapag 20, Cardona 18, Carey 17, De Ocampo R. 13, Dillinger 12, Castro 10, Peek 8, De Ocampo Y. 2, Aljamal 0, Lao 0, Ritualo 0.

Alaska 98 - De Vance 24, Miller 21, Hugnatan 11, Dela Cruz 11, Thoss 10, Cariaso 9, Tenorio 8, Fonacier 2, Ferriols 2.

Quarterscores: 30-28, 56-54, 80-75, 100-98