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Meralco Bolts 91
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Talk N Text Tropang Texters 105
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Talk N’ Text keeps Meralco winless with 105-91 victory

Meralco Bolts vs TNT Tropang Texters

It certainly looks like Talk N Text does not have to wait that long for its investment to bear fruits.

The Tropang Texters’ young turks ably supported their more veteran teammates, resulting in a cruising 101-95 victory over struggling Meralco Wednesday in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup at PhilSports Arena.

Jayson Castro scored 15 points and became the latest member of an elite club but Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario also shared the limelight as TNT notched a second straight win in three games.

As a result of their more comfortable win than in a scrambling 101-97 decision over Mahindra last week, the Texters leapfrogged from seventh and into a share of third-running spot.

That was enough to please TNT coach Jong Uichico, at least for now.

“I told them before the game that we should play better than the last two games and I think we did,” said Uichico, whose team got clobbered by Alaska 98-114 in its opening assignment.

“Generally, from our last two games maganda iyung inilaro namin,” added Uichico. “We did a pretty good job today. Hopefully, we’ll continue to improve.”

Rosser and TNT’s top two picks overall in the draft, Tautuaa and Rosario, are doing just that. Rosser came off the bench to notch a game-high 19 points and six boards while Tautuaa added 18 and nine and Rosario 14 markers, also as a reliever.

Uichico said more familiarization between him and his new players should serve TNT in good stead. “Before kasi maybe hanggang ngayon, ako nangangapa sa kanila, sila nangangapa sa akin,” he explained.

“I’m just trying to know where I can use them and them trying to understand how I want to use them.”

Not needing more games to adapt to Uichico is Castro, whose three-point play at the 8:05 mark of the third quarter not only stopped a Meralco uprising by giving TNT a 65-48 lead but also ushered him as the 73rd member of the 41-year-old league’s 5,000 Points Club.

The loss was Meralco’s third in as many games, notwithstanding all its starters finishing in double figures led by Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s 16 points and Cliff Hodge’s third straight double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Rookies Chris Newsome, Baser Amer and Joseph Sedurifa, the latter undrafted but picked up and activated due to Ronjay Buenafe’s foot injury, also offered a glimpse of what they could be for the Bolts by combining for 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. But their efforts also went for naught.

Meralco was coming off a 90-92 loss to Blackwater, when the Bolts came back from the depths of a 17-point deficit to give themselves a chance to win, only to be foiled by Carlo Lastimosa’s banked floater.

Talk N Text made sure Meralco would have a harder time coming back this time around by mustering two torrid runs bridging the first two quarters to take a 60-38 lead at the break.

The Bolts managed to trim the deficit to just 48-62 behind a surge led by Jared Dillinger, but Castro’s and-one play and Rosser and Rosario combining for 14 points the rest of the way effectively kept the Texters’ head above water.

Rosser even boomed in a buzzer-beating triple from way out to give TNT an 88-64 cushion at the end of the third canto.

The difference even stood at a high of 52-25, when Castro, Tautuaa, Fonacier and Danny Seigle combined for a 19-8 surge opening up the second period.

Earlier, it was Rosser, Ryan Reyes and Castro who stood at the forefront of the Texters’ more massive 23-3 assault that razed a 10-14 deficit and gave them a 33-17 spread.

The scores:

TALK N’ TEXT 105 – Rosser 19, Tautuaa 18, Castro 15, Rosario 14, Fonacier 9, Reyes 9, Carey 8, Miranda 4, Seigle 4, Aban 3, Rodriguez 2, Reyes 0.

MERALCO 91 – Al-Hussaini 16, David 13, Hodge 13, Newsome 13, Dillinger 11, Amer 8, Nabong 6, Alapag 4, Sedurifa 4, Faundo 2, Guevarra 1, Hugnatan 0.

Quarters: 33-17, 60-38, 88-64, 105-91

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