Texters streak to 2nd win; Painters fade

MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text stayed hot on a cold, rainy Sunday, blasting a previously unbeaten Rain or Shine side, 120-108, to notch its second straight win in the PBA Governors Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Tropang Texters sustained a mighty run dating back to the Commissioner’s Cup, fashioning out another emphatic triumph that spoke well of their bid to complete a coveted grand slam.

Maurice Baker and Jason Castro both put in near triple-double numbers as the Texters came through with a follow-up to their 101-75 conquest of the Alaska Milk Aces Wednesday, stopping a Rain or Shine team that came off back-to-back wins over B-Meg and Air21.

The Texters won their first two games by an average margin of 19, but coach Chot Reyes insisted his team still has a lot to work on.

Baker piled up 22 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds, yet he swore he’s not yet in shape.

“Dinadaan lang namin sa hard work (We’re getting it done through hard work),” said Reyes.

“We’re working out hard to get better in practice. We keep pushing the guys with brutal practices. That’s the only thing in our control,” Reyes added.

“I’m not in shape. I’m getting tired so early,” said Baker, adding though that he’s here to help Talk n Text get the Triple Crown.

Asked who he thinks are the biggest threats to Talk n Text’s grand slam bid, Baker said: “Only ourselves. We’ll not get that if we don’t come out hard.”

Jeremy Wise shook off a bad start and poured in 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Petron Blaze notched its first back-to-back wins since the Philippine Cup finals with a 100-89 whipping of Barangay Ginebra in the second game.

“I felt the jetlag in the beginning. Probably, I slept too long or something. I have to thank my teammates for carrying me in the first half,” said Wise after the game.

Castro also churned out solid all-around stats with 22 points, eight rebounds and the same number of assists and Ranidel de Ocampo, Ryan Reyes, Larry Fonacier and Ali Peek added double-digit outputs as the Texters hardly missed the absence of Jimmy Alapag, leading by as many as 22 points against Arizona Reid and his RoS teammates.

The Texters went on a breakaway in the second quarter, 70-48, and kept double-digit spreads all the way to the finish.

Down by 18, 52-70, at the half, the Elasto Painters waged repeated comeback attempts but could not come closer than 10.

Fonacier scored on back-to-back fast break layups then banged away a triple in a 9-2 closing run as TnT re-established a big lead, 99-82, at the end of the third quarter.

“Subconsciously, we were looking for Jimmy (Alapag) at the start. When we realized that Jimmy’s out, we seized control largely behind our second units,” said Reyes.