Hotshots outshot Texters in 3 overtimes

Games today (Cuneta Astrodome)

3 p.m. – NLEX vs Globalport

5:15 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines - In a classic game needing three extra periods to finish, Purefoods Star outlasted Talk n Text in the tough grind, eking out a 118-117 win to force a two-way logjam at second place with the Texters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the USEP Gym in Davao City last night.

                Enduring pain on his right knee sustained in a collision with Matt Ganuelas-Rosser in the first overtime, Denzel Bowles delivered all the big plays in the next two OTs as the Hotshots squeezed through to tie the Texters at 6-3, leaving the Meralco Bolts alone at the top at 6-2.

Bowles capped a 28-point game with an off-balance jumper off Jay Washington that swished through the net with time down to 7.1 seconds.

And the Hotshots eventually escaped with the win on a defensive gem crowding Washington who missed a tough three-point shot at the buzzer.

Bowles also came through with 15 rebounds, six assists and four blocks in a big game in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special that lasted over three and a half hours to the delight of the cheering Davao fans.

It’s the first triple-overtime game in the PBA in a long, long while, taking its toll on a number of players.

Ivan Johnson also had a huge game for Talk n Text but fouled out with 4:40 left in the second overtime.

Worse, the Texters also lost main local player Jayson Castro on cramps.

Washington took over on the ouster of Johnson and Castro, hitting incredible shots including a booming triple that pushed TnT ahead at 117-116 with 26 seconds left in the third OT.

But Bowles would answer with an incredible shot of his own, and the Hotshots secured the win that carried them back in the hunt for a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.

Curiously, Purefoods took extra five minutes to beat San Miguel Beer, 113-105, in their last outing.

The Hotshots won two successive matches after dropping three straight games against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Kia Carnival and the Barangay Ginebra Kings.

Coach Tim Cone and his troops get a good shot at a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals if they win their last two games – against the Barako Bull Energy and the Meralco Bolts.

Marc Pingris missed by a fraction of a second what could have been a game-winning tip-in in regulation.

Talk n Text took a five-point lead at 89-84 in the last three minutes on a 9-0 binge, seven off three straight lapses by Alex Mallari.

But the second-string Purefoods off-guard atoned for those errors with a lay-up and a three-pointer as the Hotshots pulled even at 89 entering the last two minutes.

Talk n Text gunner Larry Fonacier canned in two charities, Purefoods guard Mark Barroca answered with a one-hand running shot then the two teams made big stoppages in the final minute.

The game went into second overtime as Bowles scored on a post move off Johnson then foiled a drive by Castro in the dying seconds.

With fatigue coming into play, both lulled into errors and misses in the second OT.