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| Ali Peek's happy. His team is just 2 wins away from the Phillipine Cup crown. (image by Leslie Sy/InterAKTV.com) |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS over POWERADE TIGERS, 102-96
“It’s a privilege to have the courtside seat watching Gary David. You really can’t stop him. You just withstand him,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
The Powerade Tigers were clearly stronger with JV Casio back in uniform, but the Texters remained a tough nut to crack in Game 2 of the 2012 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Gary David had another 30-point game, Casio and Marcio Lassiter combined for 32 points, and the inside duo of Doug Kramer and Rommel Adducul also accounted well for themselves, but the heavily-stacked TNT five still managed to hit their shots at the most important moments to nail a commanding 2-0 series lead.
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| Gary David had another brilliant scoring performance, but even that wasn't enough to tie the series. (image by Paul Ryan Tan/InteraAKTV.com) |
Having a smaller frontline was an issue for many PBA observers before the series began, what with Kramer and Adducul unanimously hailed as “undersized” given the recent crop of PBA big men, but it hasn’t really been TNT’s height advantage that has pummeled the Tigers.
On the contrary, Powerade’s size hasn’t been too much of an issue because TNT has chiefly gone to Ali Peek and Harvey Carey down low. That should be good for the coach Bo Perasol’s Tigers, but both of TNT’s “small big men” have more than held their own against Kramer and Adducul.
If the Tigers are to steal Game 3 and maybe even the series, then they’ll have to do what they’ve done in the earlier rounds, which is to hit the big shots in the clutch.
David, Casio and Kramer missed some important late game opportunities in Game 2 (Kramer’s errant pass is one glaring example) that handed TNT more than enough breathing room. If they can regain the sharp execution that propelled them past the Llamados and the Painters, then they have a chance to slay the Goliath that is Talk N Text.
After the JUMP à the compressed game recap from PBA.ph:
Calm and composed under pressure, Talk n Text made it two in a row versus Powerade to inch closer to retaining the coveted PBA Philippine Cup crown. The Tropang Texters outplayed the Tigers in the crunch, bucking the return of JV Casio as they scored a win that gave them a commanding two-game-to-nil lead in the best-of-seven finale at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Talk n Text slowed down in the fourth period, but nailed crucial shots at the finish enabling the Texters to score a follow-up on their 116-100 win in the series opener Friday in Digos, Davao del Sur. Larry Fonacier, Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes rose to the occasion in crunch time, quelling the Tigers’ uprising. Fonacier saved a basket from a broken play, Alapag fired a trey then Ryan Reyes got a steal and scored on a breakaway layup as the Texters gained 101-93 a breather entering the final minute of the game.
The Texters went on to notch the six-point triumph, negating Gary David’s 30-point showing and Doug Kramer’s double-double job. David drained 15 of 16 free-throw attempts to highlight his eighth’ 30-point showing in the playoffs. Kramer also got better with Casio back, coming through with 14 points and 10 rebounds for his 17th double-double game in the tourney. Casio delivered 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 rebound while Marcio Lassiter added 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, but the rest of the Tigers hardly made any contribution.
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| JV Casio's return made the Tigers deadlier. (image by Paul Ryan Tan/InteraAKTV.com) |
TNT 102 - Alapag 23, Castro 19, Fonacier 13, Peek 10, Carey 9, Williams 8, Reyes 7, De Ocampo 7, Dillinger 4, Gamalinda 2, Aguilar 0.
POW 96 - David 30, Casio 17, Lassiter 15, Kramer 14, Adducul 9, Vanlandingham 4, Cruz 3, Anthony 2, Antonio 2, Allera 0, Crisano 0.
QS: 31-25, 56-51, 80-73, 102-96
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| Jayson Castro had another blistering performance that left the Tigers in the dust. (image by Leslie Sy/InteraAKTV.com) |
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| Jimmy Alapag hit 5 triples to lead the Texters past the Tigers in Game 2. (image by Paul Ryan Tan/InteraAKTV.com) |
Source: Game recap was compressed and compiled from PBA.ph
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