ALAPAG TO THE RESCUE

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THERE’S nothing like a former MVP providing poise for his team in the crunch.

That’s exactly what Jimmy Alapag did in stepping up when needed most and lifting Talk N Text to a 91-85 victory over Rain or Shine Monday at the start of their PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Alapag, winner of the league’s highest individual honor in 2011, scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, providing the Tropang Texters the spark for a whirlwind surge that proved to be the biggest difference in the opener of the best-of-five match-up.

The 37-year-old playmaker was doing it all over the floor, sinking three triples, driving for a layup and even dishing and before Rain or Shine knew it, TNT was up 84-76.

The Elasto Painters, who posted as much as a 59-49 third quarter lead, did not go down without one last fight as Ryan Arana and Wayne Chism scored on putbacks and Paul Lee boomed in a triple that made it 85-90, still 1:26 to go.

Then came Alapag’s clincher. He scrambled to save the ball off a Ranidel de Ocampo missed trey and passed it off to the latter.

Texters coach Norman Black was glad with the win, which extended his team’s streak to a franchose third-best 11 for the conference, but pointed out the series still has a long way to go and should turn out more emotional scenarios.

“I think that’s how the series is going to go. It’s going to be intense, it’s going to be physical, it’s going to be rugged. We just got to control our emotions,” said Black.

Jayson Castro paced TNT with 16 points and seven assists while Howell scored only 14 points but hauled down a game-best 22 rebounds.

Chism led all scorers with 25 points and also collared 22 boards, to go with seven blocks, with Jeff Chan adding 18 markers, triple of what he averaged in the two-game quarterfinals duel with Meralco.

Arana was the lone other E-Painter in double digits with 10, however, as the team sorely missed the services of the injured Chris Tiu (left knee) and Gabe Norwood, who attended the state dinner at Malacanang for visiting US president Barack Obama.

Saddled by foul trouble early, Lee was unable to fully find his rhythm and wound up with just nine points, his sorry night punctuated by De Ocampo’s block on him during a drive in the final 13 seconds.

An inadvertent Nino Canaleta elbow to Lee’s sternum  also added to the latter’s woes and helped TNT’s fightback from the 10-point deficit. De Ocampo capped that run with his fourth triple which made it a 62-63 game.

Rain or Shine went into the fourth frame with a 66-64 lead and Chism added on to that with a three-point play, but Howell scored from underneath before Alapag took full control. (NC)

The scores:

TALK N’ TEXT 91 – Castro 16, Alapag 15, Howell 14, De Ocampo 13, Williams 10, Reyes 8, Canaleta 5, Seigle 4, Carey 4, Fonacier 2, Aban 0.

RAIN OR SHINE 85 – Chism 25, Chan 18, Arana 10, Lee 9, Belga 7, Cruz 4, Rodriguez 4, Almazan 2, Tang 2, Nuyles 2, Ibanes 2, Uyloan 0, Teng 0.

Quarterscores: 26-24, 44-47, 64-66, 91-85

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