TnT escapes Air21 to enter semis

MANILA, Philippines -- Pushed to the limit by the fierce-fighting Air21 team, elimination-round top notcher Talk n Text needed clutch shots from Ranidel de Ocampo and Jason Castro at the finish to squeeze out a 105-100 win and secure the first semifinals berth in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

De Ocampo rifled in a big trey right in the next play after being smothered by Noy Baclao then Jason Castro nailed two charities as the Tropang Texters weathered the Express’ tough challenge and made one big step towards achieving their goal of a shot at a third straight All-Filipino crown.

“My hats off to Air21. They’re well prepared and they defended us well. As I'd said before, they’re much better than their record indicates. We’re happy to move on to the semis,” said Talk n Text coach Norman Black.

“It’s another step to get back to the championship. We’re going back to the drawing board and try to fix our weaknesses. I’m pretty humble but I’m confident we can match up with any team,” added Black whose team is up against either Alaska Milk or Meralco in the semis.

“We need to raise the level of our game if we want to win the semis,” Black also said.

Obviously, it was Air21 which raised the level of its game last night, enabling the lowest seeded playoff team to drag top seed into a battle.

KG Canaleta and Mike Cortez, in particular, put up spectacular performances that went down the drain as Bonbon Custodio threw away their last possession with the team down just by three at 100-103.

Canaleta drained six triples and finished with a game-high 25 points while Cortez tossed in 21 markers and issued a league conference-high 18 assists.

Baclao provided big help at the finish, including a brilliant spin move off De Ocampo to tie the count for the last time at 98 with 1:21 left to play.

The Express had a chance to pull ahead inside the final minute but Canaleta missed a short fall-away shot.

The Texters pounced on this opportunity with De Ocampo banging away a triple to push TnT ahead to stay at 101-98 with time down to 25.2 seconds.

“Ranidel was the third option. He popped and he was wide open. It was a well executed play,” said Black of the crucial play.

Air21 actually trimmed the lead to one on a quick drive by Custodio but Talk n Text reestablished a three-point margin on two foul shots by Castro.

Then Custodio again took matters into his hands, hastening their downfall on a wayward layup.