MANILA, Philippines - Jimmy Alapag and Ali Peek formed a deadly one-two combo for Talk n Text last night as the Tropang Texters whipped the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 109-102, for a guaranteed twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
Before a good crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, Alapag sizzled with 32 points while Peek shone with 25 points and nine rebounds as the Texters scored a fourth straight win that assured the team of a spot in the Top Two at the close of the elimination phase.
The Texters can even gain top seeding if they beat the Air21 Express in the penultimate playdate of the elims tomorrow.
“Of course, we’re going for the top seeding. Now that we’ve got this, we want a good rest tonight, a good practice tomorrow and a good game Sunday,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.
Ginebra settled for No. 3 spot after sliding down to 9-4.
Barako Bull took the exit in the PBA Philippine Cup with its head held high following an 85-83 upset of defending champion B-MEG Derby Ace in the first game.
Dennis Daa grabbed a big offensive rebound, picked a foul from Rico Maierhofer and drilled in two charities with four tenths of a second left as Barako Bull stunned Derby Ace, foiling the Llamados’ bid for an outright fourth-place finish in the elimination round.
“We’re eliminated but I told the boys that they still have to show to millions of televiewers out there and the thousands in the venue that they belong in this league, ” said Barako coach Junel Baculi.
Fighting for pride, the Energy Boosters played tough and ended an eight-game losing streak in their farewell outing in the all-Filipino tourney.
Barako ended up with a 3-11 win-loss card while Derby Ace wound up at 7-7, needing to await the results of the four remaining elims games to know its seeding in the playoffs.
The Energy Boosters took the exit on a winning note - thanks to the endgame heroics of Sunday Salvacion and Daa.
Salvacion shook off defender Marc Pingris then banged away a long twinner to tie the count at 83-all with 41.8 seconds left to play.
Daa completed the shocker when he beat Pingris to a rebound following a missed penetration by Reed Juntilla then knocked in the winning free throws off a foul by Maiehofer in the dying seconds.
Barako got a big possession after Jerwin Gaco missed a top-of-the-key jumper with 15 seconds left in the clock.
After Barako went ahead at 85-83, Derby Ace still managed to make one final attempt to force overtime play but Maierhofer missed a catch-and-shoot on a lob pass by Roger Yap.
The Llamados could have won the game easily if not for their poor free throws. They missed 19 charities, nine in the final quarter.
Daa finished with a double-double game with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Salvacion wound up with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Big men Mark Isip and Mark Andaya chipped in at least 10 points each.
James Yap led all scorers with 22 points but he himself missed crucial charities. Gaco and Jonas Villanueva added 12 apiece.
NOTES: Peter June Simon incurred a game suspension and a fine of P20,000 for his flagrant foul in their last game. Romel Adducul also committed a flagrant infraction in that game and he’s assessed a fine of P5,000. On Wednesday, Air21 and Rain or Shine figured in a highly emotional game marred by hard fouls by Wesley Gonzales and JR Reyes and incidents that saw coaches Yeng Guiao and Caloy Garcia confront the refs. Gonzales drew a fine of P20,000 while Guiao and Garcia were fined P10,000 each.
The scores:
First Game
Barako 85 – Salvacion 15, Isip 13, Daa 1, Andaya 10,Viray 6, Juntilla 6, Hubalde 5, Dimaunahan 5, Yee 5, Cruz 4, Wainwright 2, Hermida 2, Alonzo 1.
Derby Ace 83 – J Yap 22, Gaco 12, Villanueva 12, Canaleta 8, R. Yap 8, Allado 6, Acuna 4, Maierhofer 4, Salvador 4, Pingris 3, Adducul 0.
Quarterscores: 22-26, 48-43, 66-68, 85-83
Second Game
Talk n Text 109 – Alapag 32, Peek 25, Castro 13, Dillinger 9, Fonacier 9, Carey 8, Reyes 7, Williams 6, Aban 0, De Ocampo 0.
Ginebra 102 – Miller 22, Mamaril 14, Caguioa 14, Cortez 13, Tubid 10, Menk 10, Villanueva 9, Helterbrand 5, Wilson 3, Hatfield 2, Intal 0.
Quarterscores: 28-25, 50-42, 72-63, 109-102