Llamados got Bowles, lead series over TnT

MANILA, Philippines - Denzel Bowles got into foul-trouble situation early but put B-Meg safely ahead before eventually fouling out as the Llamados outfought the Talk n Text Tropang Texters, 91-87, for the 2-1 lead in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven titular series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Bowles gallantly fought through five fouls in the last six minutes, delivering the plays that mattered most as the Llamados once again got ahead in this exciting and thrilling final.

The young, talented import best typified the great character displayed by the Llamados in this contest, hardly showing ill effects from their sorry Game Two defeat.

“We really tried to be right-minded, approaching it as Game One of the finals, not Game Three. The guys did a good job doing that, showing no discouragement from Game Two,” said B-Meg coach Tim Cone.

“Denzel came back with a monster game. He made the big shots. He showed maturity, picking up a sixth foul only in the last four seconds of the game. He’s a mature young man at 22,” Cone also said, making special mention of their import.

Bowles put in a game-high 28 points, including 10 after having drawn a fifth foul with 5:58 left.

“We battled about it. Denzel wanted to stay in there,” said Cone.

The Texters were fighting to salvage the game when Bowles canned in four important charities in the last 23 seconds.

Bowles had given B-Meg a four-point lead at 90-86 when he eventually fouled out, baited by Jimmy Alapag while taking a three-point attempt with 4.9 ticks left.

“What a game. Everything you wanted in it was there – living and dying in each shot,” said Cone.

Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes, however, said: “We didn’t play well at all. We played lousy with Ranidel (de Ocampo) and Jimmy (Alapag) completely absent.”

“We can beat them with a full roster not with a depleted lineup,” added Reyes, taking De Ocampo and Alapag to task.

De Ocampo took only two field goal attempts – both from beyond the arc --  in 23 minutes of action while Alapag bled for his points on 2-of-13 shooting.

James Yap, Josh Urbiztondo and PJ Simon did their jobs for B-Meg, backing up Bowles with solid numbers, including an impressive 10-of-18 three-pointers among the three of them.

Clamping down on one another on defense, the Llamados edged the Texters, 37-36, at the turn – the lowest scoring first half in the series.

It was a tight first-half battle with neither team leading by more than five.

The Llamados were holding a five-point margin at 36-31 before Ali Peek and Ryan Reyes gave the Texters a 5-1 windup to make it a one-point game at halftime.

Reyes and Peek combined for 7-of-7 field goal shooting but the rest of the Texters struggled to score a basket as Talk n Text was limited to 35-percent clip in the first half. The Llamados were slightly better with a 35.9 percent marksmanship.

By the half, the Texters had committed eight errors, one more than the total number of turnovers they got in Game Two.

The Llamados found a good rhythm at the start of the third quarter, opening a 59-52 lead, but the Texters were quick to make a countermove, racing ahead, 64-62, going into the final canto.

As in the last game, Yap had a strong third quarter, scattering 10 points on 3-of-5 field goals and 2-of-2 charities.