TALK N TEXT GRABS 1-0 HEADSTART

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Talk n Text sustained the momentum of its semifinal romp over Purefoods Star, coming away with a 99-92 win over Rain or Shine in the opener of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

The TNT starting unit did most of the damage as they pounced on the ROS team that obviously got rusty from a week-long rest, taking the crucial head start in the best-of-seven series before a good Wednesday crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Tropang Texters go for the 2-0 lead in Game Two over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday.

The Texters held sway almost throughout but coach Jong Uichico thought they could’ve done a better job.

“We’re happy we won but we’re not satisfied with the game we played. We gave up too many points,” said Uichico. “Though we won, we didn’t show the level of emotion we did in the Purefoods series.”

Unsatisfying was the fact that Rain or Shine was able to stay in the game despite a woeful 18-of-33 clip from the stripe plus 17 turnovers.

“We’ll just have to go back to practice and try to improve our free throws and try to find a solution to the turnovers we committed,” said Guiao, for his part.

“I think we played decent defensively. We limited their three-point shooting. If we made a few three throws and minimized our turnovers, the game could’ve been closer,” Guiao also said. “We probably just need something to break the ice. We’ll come out harder on Friday.”

Guiao had a mouthful on Talk n Text import Ivan Johnson, who knocked him down with a bump on the sideline with 3:36 left in the third period.

“He did that on purpose. He can easily avoid me,” said Guiao.

Despite early fouls, Johnson came through with solid numbers of 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists plus some extra curriculars.

For knocking down Guiao, Johnson was slapped a technical foul.

Entering the homestretch, Johnson flopped down to the floor obviously in search of a flagrant infraction from Beau Belga. The refs, however, just whistled a regular foul.

Ranidel de Ocampo, Jayson Castro, Matt Rosser and Larry Fonacier, the other TNT starters, turned in remarkable games as the Texters stretched to eight their streak of playoff wins versus the E-Painters in the last two years.

De Ocampo, who narrowly missed the official list of candidates for the Best Player of the Conference, easily stood out with a team-high 24 points, including key three charities and a three-point play that helped wrap up the win.

Castro chipped in 14 markers, five boards and five dish-offs, Ganuelas contributed 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block while Fonacier added eight markers, six boards and four assists.

Jay Washington, Kevin Alas, Harvey Carey, Kelly Williams and Aaron Aban provided some spell for the Texters against 14 players rotated by Guiao, including the returning Jeff Chan who fired away eight points.

Wayne Chism led all scorers with 34 points with only Paul Lee adding a double-digit output with 13.

Despite their lackadaisical game, the E-Painters stayed right behind the Texters and could have salvaged the game if not for 15 missed free throws.

Rain or Shine was just down by five, 84-89, before Johnson and De Ocampo strung up four straight charities to push up their lead to 93-84 entering the last two minutes of the game.

Castro, the leading candidate for the BPC plum, capped his 14-point game with a trey as TNT made it 96-86 with 1:24 left to play. (SB)

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