TEXTERS UNSCATHED IN ‘HELL WEEK’
Talk n Text played strong through three games in six days, sweeping past Rain or Shine, Barako Bull and Air21 to close in on joint leaders Petron Blaze and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel towards the end of the December stretch of the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup elimination phase.
The Tropang Texters came out of the tough grind unscathed, completing a sweep with an 87-82 triumph over the hard-luck Air21 Express at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Sunday.
“We survived our hell week,” said Talk n Text coach Norman Black.
“I was really concerned about our ability to play those games. In this game, there’s no collapse though we didn’t really have a big lead,” Black also said.
Against the E-Painters and the Energy Cola, Black and his troops barely survived after blowing away huge leads.
There’s really no TnT collapse in this game with Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jai Reyes and Larry Fonacier delivering big efforts for the team.
The Texters are at now 6-2 with earlier wins over Meralco, Alaska Milk and Globalport.
They enjoy some breather while the Petron Blaze Boosters (7-1) and the Ginebra Kings (7-1) break their standoff in a much-anticipated match at 8 p.m. on Christmas Day.
The Texters won’t be back until Dec. 28 when they play the Boosters.
“Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes will be back then. It will be the first time this conference that we’ll be at full strength,” said Black.
Playing the minutes and the role of the injury-hit Alapag, Reyes rose to the challenge, providing hustles and delivering numbers against the Express who actually hung around but just weren’t able to put up a real threat.
Air21 stayed right behind Talk n Text largely behind Asi Taulava’s 23-point job.
KG Canaleta and Joseph Yeo added 13 apiece for the Express who went down with a third straight loss and eighth in nine games in all.
Castro sizzled with 21 points, De Ocampo sparkled with 18 markers while Reyes shone with 15 markers, three rebounds and the same number of assists for the Texters.
“It’s important for us because the top two teams are pulling away. If you don’t continue to perform and win, you’ll not be able to catch up,” Black said.
“It’s nice to see Ranidel back in form. Jayson was there giving us a lot of leadership,” Black also said.
Fonacier also provided firepower with 13 markers for the Texters who seized the early initiative and stayed in command to the finish. (SB)
The scores:
TALK N’ TEXT 87 – Castro 21, De Ocampo 18, Reyes 15, Fonacier 13, Carey 6, Seigle 5, Aban 5, Baclao 4, Williams 0, Anthony 0, Poligrates 0.
AIR21 82 – Taulava 23, Yeo 13, Canaleta 13, Camson 8, Cardona 8, Manuel 6, Custodio 4, Jaime 3, Sharma 2, Matias 1, Burstcher 1, Arboleda 0, Ritualo 0.
Quarters: 20-18, 48-37, 67-57, 87-82
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
