TALK ‘N TEXT SURVIVES AIR21 ENDGAME SCARE
Philippine Cup champion Talk ‘N Text survived a furious KG Canaleta-led Air21 endgame rally to notch its first victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, an 86-83 decision Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Texters, who lost their first game 99-92 to Meralco last Saturday, relied on key baskets from import Keith Benson in the final minute and had crucial defensive stops in the dying seconds to escape with the win after nearly losing leads of as much 23 in the third canto.
Playing his best game in the conference to the tune of 30 points, 18 rebounds, two steals and two shotblocks, Benson had nine of his points in the fourth quarter including a pivotal three-point play with 38.1 ticks remaining which gave Talk ‘N Text an 85-81 cushion which was enough to hang on until the end.
Ranidel de Ocampo added 19 points off the bench while Jared Dillinger tallied 14 for the Tropang Texters who were leading for a good three quarters of the way before relaxing in the fourth and nearly paying for it.
Canaleta fired 20 of his team-best 23 points in the final period including a sizzling 6-for-9 shooting from three-point range to bring the Express back in the game from a 68-46 hole near the end of the third.
Air21, which was coming off a 74-70 win over Barangay Ginebra last Sunday, had a chance to send the game into overtime but Mike Cortez was blocked by Jayson Castro and Bonbon Custodio misfired on a triple try at the buzzer, handing Talk ‘N Text the win.
“It got a little bit scary there in the end. But it’s good we had a good enough cushion and we made some defensive stops in the end,” said Talk ‘N Text head coach Norman Black after the game.
“It’s good to finally get our first win in the conference but its still a long way. And we have to take a look at what we did wrong in that fourth quarter after dominating the game three-fourths of the way,” added Black of their forgettable final period where they were outscored by the Express 32-14.
Benson and De Ocampo had 16 and 13 points, respectively, in the first half alone, helping Talk ‘N Text to a 52-33 advantage at the intermission.
Back-to-back triples by De Ocampo in the third quarter stretched TNT’s lead to its biggest at 68-46 at the 2:04 mark of the quarter.
Then Canaleta almost singlehandedly brought Air21 back in the thick of things with his fiery fourth quarter performance that eventually fell short. (FM)
The scores:
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