Texters send Coffee Masters on the brink

MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text sent Barako Energy Coffee on the verge of elimination as the Tropang Texters capped their mighty showing in the PBA Fiesta Conference elims phase with a 112-101 victory over the Coffee Masters at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Texters dominated the Coffee Masters in the first three periods and just went through the motion in the final quarter to nail win that gave them an impressive 15-3 closing card in the double-round elims phase.

Gaining the top seeding in the playoffs, Talk n Text will take a three-week rest before plunging back into action in the semifinal round.

“In the overall scheme of things, we did finish the way we wanted it to be,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“I can’t complain with the efforts put up by the boys. We got a 15-3 record but that’s now done and over with. In a couple of hours, we’ll forget about the elims and focus on the playoffs,” Reyes said.

B-MEG Derby Ace kept its hot streak going, drubbing Barangay Ginebra, 101-83, to catch up with San Miguel Beer at second place with a 12-5 (win-loss) slate.

“The best thing about our situation is that we’re in control of our fate. We’ve primed ourselves to figure prominently in the elimination round. We’ll not relax and be complacent in our last game against Barako,” said Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio.

The loss dropped the Kings to 9-9.

Meanwhile, the Coffee Masters absorbed their 14th loss against three wins and faced the specter of elimination.

They need to win their last game against the Derby Ace Llamados and hope the Air21 Express lose to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to force a playoff for the last slot in the wildcards.

Talk n Text outclassed and outplayed Barako even without Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes, notching its 14th win in its last 15 games with Mark Cardona, Shawn Daniels, Aaron Aban and Ranidel de Ocampo combining spearheading the rout.

Cardona came through with a personal conference-high of 28 points while Aban got a career-best 16 points.