TALK ‘N TEXT BREEZES PAST BARAKO BULL, ENTERS SEMIS FIRST
Ivan Johnson caught fire early and Talk ‘N Text never looked back.
Behind the impeccable shooting of the 6-foot-9 import, the Tropang Texters barged into the semifinals of the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 127-97 demolition of Barako Bull Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Owning a twice-to-beat advantage, the number two-seed Talk ‘N Text never lifted its foot off of the gas pedal as it ran roughshod over Barako Bull in their quarterfinals affair.
Johnson captained a 45-point first quarter — the highest scoring quarter in the league over the last nine conferences — as the Tropang Texters broke the game wide open early and which proved to be just the precursor of what’s to come for the Energy in the next 36 minutes of basketball. At one point late in the fourth, the Tropang Texters even enjoyed a 37-point edge, 123-86, before the Energy slowly trimmed the lead away to its final 30-point margin.
Johnson finished with 35 points on a 13-of-19 field goal shooting, 15 rebounds, and three blocks as Talk ‘N Text coasted to the W en route to a fourth straight Final 4 appearance and 13th in the last 15 conferences.
“(Johnson) takes what the defense gives him. He’s a veteran already, so he knows what shots he should or shouldn’t take,” said Talk ‘N Text head coach Jong Uichico.
Johnson definitely was the big difference in this game as the 30-point rout was very different from its eliminations meeting against Barako Bull, where then-Talk ‘N Text reinforcement Richard Howell could only lead the Tropang Texters to an 80-75 victory.
“Ang ganda ng shooting namin kaya medyo lumaki ang lamang,” said Uichico, as Talk ‘N Text shot 54-percent from the field and went 17-of-36 from rainbow country.
Jayson Castro added 18 points and seven assists, while Ranidel de Ocampo chipped in 16 markers.
Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Larry Fonacier also combined for 22 in the easy victory, as Talk ‘N Text now awaits the winner of the Purefoods-Alaska best-of-3 quarterfinal series for its semifinals opponent.
“Pagdating ng semis, ibang usapan na yun. We’re playing the best of the best. It’s either Purefoods or Alaska, so we should always be prepared,” said Uichico. “Yung mga players, alam nila na they have to play a notch higher in those games. Alam na nila yun and it’s normal for them already.”
Solomon Alabi got 23 points and 17 rebounds in the losing effort, while JC Intal wound up with 22 markers on a 4-of-8 shooting from threes for the Energy who were eliminated in the playoffs by Talk ‘N Text for the third straight conference. (RL)
The scores:
TALK ‘N TEXT 127 – Johnson 35, Castro 18, De Ocampo 16, Ganuelas-Rosser 12, Fonacier 10, Alas 8, Seigle 8, Washington 5, Williams 4, Espiritu 3, Carey 2, Labagala 2, Reyes 2, Aban 2, Miller 0.
BARAKO BULL 97 – Alabi 23, Intal 22, Lanete 13, Pascual 12, Garcia 6, Lastimosa 6, Marcelo 6, Mercado 4, Hubalde 3, Salvador 2, Salva 0, Paredes 0.
Quarterscores: 45-23, 75-44, 101-73, 127-97.
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