Chris Tiu
played a heckuva game trying to lift the Painters to their first Philippine Cup
Finals win, but they just couldn’t keep up with the more poised Texters in the
endgame.
Behind the
hot sniping of Jimmy Alapag, coach Norman Black’s wards garnered a commanding
3-0 lead in the championship series. For the third game in a row, TNT stifled
the offense of ROS’s top two guards – Paul Lee and Jeff Chan. Both guy shot
just 4-of-17 form the floor as the Painters struggled to get things going
AGAIN.
Coach Yeng
Guiao’s boys did hold the lead going into and early in the fourth quarter, but
they just couldn’t close it out against a team seeking its third Philippine Cup
in a row. Tiu led the Painters with 14 points, while Jervy Cruz, Larry Rodriguez,
and Ryan Araña each scored 10 or more, but even their production couldn’t make
up for the anemic performance of their ROS’s other big guns. Beau Belga, JR
Quiñahan, and Gabe Norwood all combined for just 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
 |
| Chris Tiu played a good game, but even him stepping up wasn't enough to tow ROS to a W. |
In contrast,
TNT shot better. Despite trailing in the rebounds department, the Texters were
still able to wrest control of the game because of their accurate sniping. They
made 9 treys compared to only 4 for ROS.
Game 4 is on
Wednesday, and if the Painters are still aching to get back in this one, then
all their scorers have to be on-target, else they get swept by the wayside –
literally.
Game Recaps:
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS
over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 89-80
Mighty Mouse
came to save the day.
With his
team stuck in a dogfight, Jimmy Alapag hit two booming three-pointers that
allowed Talk ‘N Text to break loose and defeat Rain or Shine, 89-80, in Game
Three of the Philippine Cup finals Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
With the
win, the Tropang Texters moved one step away from sweeping the series and
winning their third straight all-Filipino crown.
“We put
ourselves in a good position to win a championship,” said Talk ‘N Text coach
Norman Black, who has a chance to win his 11th PBA title in his return to the
pro league after leading Ateneo to five straight UAAP championships.
“If it ends
up being a sweep, then so be it.”
The game was
tied at 76-all before Alapag, who finished with 15 points and four assists, had
back-to-back hits from beyond the arc to break the game open. Those shots
kicked off a 13-4 windup that sealed the game for the two-time defending
champions.
Rain or
Shine looked poised to get their first series victory, taking a 70-61 lead
early in the fourth quarter behind Chris Tiu, who led the Elasto Painters with
14 points.
But their
top guns Paul Lee and Jeff Chan were miserable from the field for the third
straight game. Lee scored just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting, while Jeff
Chan scored just three points after making just one shot in five attempts.
Jayson
Castro led all scorers after scoring 12 of his 19 points in the first half.
Talk ‘N Text
can seal the deal Wednesday in Game Four, also at the Big Dome.
The scores:
TNT 89 – Castro 19, Alapag 15, De
Ocampo 13, Reyes 11, Williams 11, Carey 6, Dillinger 5, Fonacier 5, Peek 4,
Aban 0.
ROS 80 – Tiu 14, Cruz 11, Rodriguez 10,
Arana 10, Ibanes 8, Lee 7, Belga 6, Norwood 5, Quinahan 4, Chan 3, Tang 2.
QS: 22-20, 42-39, 61-65, 89-80
 |
| Ryan Reyes and the Texters rose above a tough-fighting ROS squad for a commanding 3-0 lead. |
 |
| Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, and Jared Dillinger are all just a win away from the 2013 Philippine Cup title. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game
recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey
Joble.)
Images: All images are from InterAKTV.
(Photo credit to Pranz Kaeno Billones)
0 Comment