MANILA, Philippines – Itching to atone for his last second flubbed treys the last time out, Ryan Reyes exploded for 24 points to lead the Talk n Text Tropang Texters to a much needed win and eliminate GlobalPort Batang Pier, 94-84, Saturday night at the packed University of San Agustin gym in Iloilo City.
Reyes took matters into his own hands early not wanting a repeat of their 82-83 defeat to San Mig Coffee last Wednesday. The former Defensive Player of the Year looked for his offense early on and led a second quarter blitz by the Texters to pull away. He laced his best offensive game of the conference with six boards and three assists to pace the Texters, who climbed back to .500 with their sixth win.
The Batang Pier, who played without top playmaker Sol Mercado, bowed out of contention with their ninth straight loss. GlobalPort tried to put up a fight with a 12-0 blast in the payoff period to cut down a huge 16-point deficit to just four.
But Jimmy Alapag and Reyes hit crucial baskets to ice the game. The duo's explosive games came on the heels of their import Donnell Harvey scoring his worst output with only six markers. But the TnT import more than made up for his lack of scoring with great defensive effort especially holding the fort in the post.
The scores:
TALK N’ TEXT 94 – Reyes 24, Alapag 20, De Ocampo 13, Castro 12, Harvey 6, Fonacier 6, Al-Hussaini 6, Aban 5, Carey 2, Raymundo 0, Peek 0.
GLOBALPORT 84 – Morgan 19, Miller 15, Deutchman 12, Aguilar 11, David 10, Juntilla 5, Belencion 4, Yee 3, Antonio 3, Mandani 2, Salvador 0, Lingganay 0.
Quarterscores: 29-27, 56-40, 75-66, 94-84.