17 Texters extend streak to 12 wins, near final
Game today (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 8 p.m. – Air S i Co
Rain or Shine fought Talk n Text in a dogfight despite losing import Wayne Chism to an injured left knee in the second quarter.
The Tropang Texters were the tougher dogs in the end, though, pulling off a 94-87 triumph that preserved their unbeaten run and sent them to the doorstep of a first PBA finals in the last five conferences at the Cuneta Astrodome last night.
Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Ranidel de Ocampo virtually ran a clinic for rookie Raymond Almazan in the fourth quarter and guards Jayson Castro and Jimmy Alapag gave their own superb shows in leading the Texters to a commanding two-game-to-nil lead over the Elasto Painters in their Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown.
The Tropang Texters seek to duplicate a franchise record run of 13 straight victories as they go for a series sweep tomorrow over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We have a goal in mind and that is to reach the championship. We’ll try to finish this on Friday,” said Talk n Text coach Norman Black.
“ Let’s give credit to the RoS team. They fought with their hearts out minus Chism , but in the end, it was Jimmy Alapag who made the big plays,” Black also said.
Alapag made clutch outside shots and, with the E-Painters still threatening at the finish, dished off two crucial assists that had Kelly Williams and Castro nailing dagger baskets.
Earlier, De Ocampo and Castro took turns in delivering buckets that kept the Texters’ head above the water in the game that became an all-Filipino battle with the sidelining of Chism and Richard Howell’s exit on fouls with 4:09 left to play.
Hitting an array of shots against Almazan, De Ocampo top scored with 20 points while Castro, punishing the E-Painters with his blinding attacks to the basket, added 19.
Due to early fouls, Howell was limited to playing 25 minutes, finishing with 12 markers and 11 boards.
For Rain or Shine, Beau Belga, Ryan Ara a, TY Tang and Almazan carried much of the fight after losing Chism on a bad fall with 5:11 left in the second period.
Though playing all-Filipino, the E-Painters even surged ahead at 69-65 and were still very much in the fight at 87-91 inside the final minute.
Before the game, Rain or Shine was already handicapped by injuries to Jervy Cruz and Chris Tiu.
The big blow came as Chism writhed in pain after twisting his left knee on a bad fall in the second period.
He still took the charities off a foul by Howell and muffed both before heading to the dugout ahead of the rest. He returned to their bench with already over two minutes into the third quarter, but RoS coach Yeng Guiao opted not to use him anymore. Chism suffered a suspected MCL sprain. Curiously, the E-Painters made a run even with Chism away, pulling ahead at 35-34 on three straight baskets by Ara a.
But with a poor shooting, Rain or Shine trailed by three, 40-43, at the half.
The Texters converted four of eight three- pointers and 13 of 15 free throws while the E-Painters struggled with 4-of-18 three-point shooting and 12-of-19 foul shots.
The two teams figured in a duel of runs earlier with Rain or Shine starting with an 11-5 salvo then Talk n Text grabbing the upperhand with 11 unanswered points.
NOTES: The PBA has taken appropriate measures on referees missing crucial violations in the openers of both semifinal series. “The game officials missed an out-of-bounds violation that should
have given ball possession to Rain or Shine at the 22-second
mark of the fourth quarter (against Talk n Text Monday),” a PBA
statement said. In the Air21-San Mig game Tuesday, the PBA said: “The game officials failed to spot a traveling violation on Asi Taulava that led to a two-point basket for Air21 at the 1:22 mark of the fourth quarter.” Both missed calls were not reviewable during
the game and were thus not correctible under the rules….. RoS coach Yeng Guiao was fined P30,000 for striking the abdominal area of TnT import Richard Howell as the latter passed by the RoS bench at endgame of the RoS-TnT series opener. Meralco player Cliff Hodge was fined P20,000 for elbowing RoS player Jeff Chan on the face in the fourth quarter of their game Saturday. The scores: Talk n Text 94 – De Ocampo 20, Castro 19, Williams 14, Alapag 14, Howell 12, Fonacier 7, Carey 4, Seigle 2, Canaleta 2, Aban 0, Reyes Jai 0, Reyes Ryan 0, Baclao 0.
Rain or Shine 87 – Belga 16, Araña 14, Almazan 12, Chism
10, Tang 10, Lee 10, Norwood 5, Rodriguez 4, Chan 2, Nuyles
2, Ibañes 2.
Quarterscores: 21-17, 43-38, 65-64, 94-87