Texters make perfect 10, blast Painters

MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text came armed to the teeth for the showdown with Rain or Shine, fashioning out a 104-85 rout to stretch its franchise-record streak in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Tropang Texters came out strong and simply overpowered the Elasto Painters to post their 10th straight win and 11th in 12 games overall in the season-ending tourney.

“If you take a look at their history since they joined the league as Welcoat, that team always finds a way to beat Talk n Text every year. For that reason, we didn’t take them for granted,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“The mindset was for everybody to play tough. We had our most brutal practice the last two days. We’re very obsessive in practice and that’s the key,” Reyes added.

Primed up through extra hard workouts Monday and Tuesday, the Texters blasted the Elasto Painters, handing them a sixth loss against the same number of wins.

Talk n Text inched closer to an outright slot in the semifinal round as the Texters regained a share of the lead with the San Miguel Beermen at 11-2.

And Reyes said they intend to keep on going.

“We have four more tough assignments coming starting Saturday. We’ll put this game behind us and focus on the Saturday game against Ginebra,” said Reyes.

The Texters clamped down on defense and worked on a fluid-motion offense as they completed a two-game elims sweep of the Elasto Painters for the first time in the last eight conferences.

Talk n Text decisioned Rain or Shine, 99-96, in their previous tiff.

“ We played hard on defense, containing not only Gabe Norwood and Sol Mercado but also guys like Jayr Reyes, Jireh Ibanes and Jeff Chan,” said Reyes.

B-MEG Derby Ace made it 4-0 over Sta. Lucia Realty in the season after squeezing out a 73-66 win in the nightcap.

“It was an ugly win but still something positive in terms of the outcome. We couldn’t play that way up against tough teams,” said Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio.

NOTES: Leroy Hickerson, Air21’s original import choice who sustained injury before his scheduled flight to the Philippines, has fully recovered and is now set to take over from Reggie Larry. Hickerson is a member of the Puerto Rico national team who’s been a star in the Mexican league the last few years. He was the MVP and slam dunk contest winner in the last Mexican tourney.