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| Kelly Williams bullies his way thru the defense of Barako Bull's Danny Seigle. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS over BARAKO BULL ENERGY, 113-106 (OT)
Ryan Reyes might still be out of game shape, but his shooting touch hasn’t lost a beat. Talk ‘N Text’s defender-guard converted back-to-back three-point shots late in overtime and the defending champions succeeded in hanging on for a victory over a game Barako Bull to bounce back from an embarrassing defeat in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Reyes was left wide open when he took those triples on opposite corners of the floor, giving the Tropang Texters the lead for good after breaking loose from a 106 106 tie.
It was the fourth win in five games for Talk ‘N Text, giving it a firm grip of the solo lead halfway through the short elimination round. More importantly, though, the victory gave the Tropang Texters the confidence again after suffering a shock 89-78 loss at the hands of Air21 Wednesday night.
Jimmy Alapag scored 27 points and flicked 7 assists, and import Donnell Harvey pulled together an odd triple-double of 26 points, 22 rebounds and 10 turnovers. Larry Fonacier added 17 points and Ranidel de Ocampo had 14.
Rodney White scattered 42 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, and Miller had 20, but none in the extra period. Danny Seigle contributed 10 points for the Energy, who dropped to 2-4 (win-loss) in a tie with idle Meralco for eighth and ninth spots and are now in danger of missing the playoffs with three games left in their elimination round itinerary.
TNT 113 - Alapag 27, Harvey 26, Fonacier 17, De Ocampo 14, Dillinger 9, Reyes 9,
Gamalinda 4, Williams 3, Raymundo 2, Carey 2.
BBE 106 - White 42, Miller 20, Seigle 10, Tubid 9, Weinstein 6, Arboleda 5, Najorda 4, Allado 4, Pennisi 3, Lanete 2, Aquino 1, Pena 0.
QS: 26-18; 52-40; 76-74; 102-102; 113-106.
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| Rodney White scored a game-high 42 in a losing effort for the Energy. |
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| Donnell Harvey boxes out Barako guard Wynne Arboleda. |
AIR21 EXPRESS over ALASKA ACES, 88-85
The Alaska Aces ached to do their thing on the floor as their humble contribution on this meaningful day for the corporation.
Marcus Douthit and his Air21 teammates, however, had their own agenda. Douthit rebounded strong from a six-point game the last time out, coming through with a huge 20-20 showing as the Express repulsed the Aces to gain a piece of second place.
Nelbert Omolon, Jojo Duncil, James Sena and RJ Jazul provided big help as Air21 won back-to-back and, in the process, posted its first winning slate in the franchise’s young history. The Express are now tied with Petron Blaze, Barangay Ginebra and B-Meg at 3-2 in the mid-season tourney.
Earlier in the day, Alaska Milk Corp. entered into a grand merger with Royal Friesland Campina, one of the biggest dairy companies in the world. The Netherlands-based company increased its stake in Alaska from about 8.1 to 68.9 percent via a purchase of 535.7 million shares. Wilfred Steven Uytengsu, however, remains as the company president and chief executive officer. Team manager Joaqui Trillo allayed fears the Alaska Aces ball club will soon leave the PBA.
Douthit collected 25 rebounds and 23 points with Omolon, Duncil, Sena and Jazul chipping in double-digit outputs.
A21 88 - Douthit 23, Omolon 14, Duncil 13, Sena 10, Jazul 10, Sison 4, Isip 4, Hubalde 4, Ritualo 4, Escobal 2, Mirza 0, Aquino 0.
ALA 85 - Parada 26, Baguio 16, Salamat 9, Tenorio 8, Thoss 8, Baracael 7, Reyes 4, Custodio 3, Eman 2, Gonzales 2, Gelig 0.
QS: 19-19, 35-32, 62-53, 88-85
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| Marcus Douthi shows his trademark fadeaway against the D of Adam Parada. |
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| Bitoy Omolon sliced and dices thru the interior defense of Alaska. |
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| Bonbon Custodio and the Aces failed to get past the Air21 Express. |
POWERADE TIGERS over PETRON BLAZE BOOSTERS, 98-88
Powerade jumped out of the starting block, pulling away by 30 points towards the end of the first half before slowing down and settling for a 10-point win over Petron Blaze in their PBA out-of-town tussle at the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation.
Gary David, Marcio Lassiter and import Dwayne Jones got the Tigers to a swashbuckling start before eventually moving the team to joint second place with the Air21 Express, the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the B-Meg Llamados at 3-2. The Boosters, meanwhile, suffered their first loss in their last four outings.
The Tigers put the game away early with a torrid offense that gave them a 66-39 bulge at the half. No team has made a bigger output in the first half in the tourney thus far. David, Lassiter and Jones came out firing, opening a 41-23 lead for Powerade in the first quarter, the Tigers’ output also a league conference-high.
The Best Player of the Conference in the Philippine Cup, David had piled up 20 points in the first half including a three-point play giving the Tigers a 30-point spread at 65-35 with a little over a minute left in the second period. David, Lassiter and Jvee Casio combined for six treys to highlight Powerade’s searing first-half charge.
POW 98 – David 25, Lassier 23, Jones 22, Anthony 8, Casio 8, Kramer 8, Cruz 2, Vanlandingham 2, Adducul 0, Calimag 0.
PBB 88 – Fazekas 21, Miranda 19, Yeo 15, Cabagnot 13, Santos 11, Tugade 7, Agustin 2, Reyes 0, Doruelo.
QS: 41-23, 66-39, 81-68, 98-88.
MERALCO BOLTS over RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS, 93-84
Mac Cardona picked up from where he left off, scoring 25 points for the second straight game and spiking it all up with his usual on-court antics. Chris Ross, however, had the biggest shot of the night and helped Meralco to a win over Rain or Shine. This was the Bolts' second straight victory, which kept alive their hopes of crashing the Top 6, who will advance to the playoffs.
Leading Meralco was Earl Barron with his 29 points and 22 rebounds, but it was Cardona who again hogged most of the limelight by scoring 11 of his points in the fourth quarter that helped stymie the E-Painters' comeback. Along the way, Cardona was also taunting those who futilely tried to defend him and silencing those among the estimated 16,000 fans booing him every time he touched the ball. For the prolific guard-forward, it was just his way of letting off steam, aside from scoring on a variety of shots.
Reynel Hugnatan chipped in 16 points after making his first seven shots from the field, including back-to-back long jumpers that highlighted the Bolts' charge to as much as a 66-44 spread in the third period.
Duke Crews went into the game averaging 30.6 points and was held way below that with just 21 on 4-for-13 field shooting. Paul Lee scored all his 13 points in the third period while Ronjay Buenafe added 12, all in the fourth.
MB 93 - Barron 29, Cardona 25, Hugnatan 16, Espinas 12, Ross 5, Mercado 4, Macapagal 2, Timberlake 0, Borboran 0, Taulava 0.
ROS 84 - Crews 21, Lee 13, Buenafe 12, Norwood 8, Quinahan 8, Cruz 4, Chan 4, Ibanes 4, Matias 3, Belga 3, Tang 2, Arana 2.
QS: 30-18, 47-39, 72-61, 93-84
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| Earl Barron continues to impress for the Meralco Bolts. |
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| Reynel Hugnatan had a good offensive showing as the Bolts won back-to-back. |
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| ROS's Gabe Norwood hops and skips into the tight inside defense of Meralco. |
B-MEG LLAMADOS over BGY. GINEBRA KINGS, 109-93
B-Meg stood its ground in a fierce battle with Barangay Ginebra, playing solid throughout to pull off a win and seize solo second place in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Denzel Bowles matched up well with Jackson Vroman and the B-Meg locals outfought their Ginebra counterparts as the Llamados closed in on the post-elim plays with a 4-2 win-loss card. The Kings, with a second straight loss, slid to 3-3, now a game and a half behind the front running Talk n Text Tropang Texters.
Denzel Bowles, Mark Barroca, PJ Simon and James Yap did the biggest damage on the Kings in this game watched by a crowd of over 16,000.
Bowles attacked Vroman’s defense to help fuel B-Meg’s key closing run. The young B-Meg import wound up with 27 points and 15 rebounds as against Vroman’s 26 markers, 8 boards and 8 assists.
Barroca and Urbiztondo, left to tend the B-Meg backcourt on Roger Yap’s exit, combined for 30 points and 6 assists. Simon and James Yap fired 18 and 15 points, respectively, as their contribution at wing spot.
BML 109 - Bowles 27, Simon 18, Barroca 18, Yap J. 15, Urbiztondo 12, Devance 7, Reavis 5, Pingris 4, De Ocampo 3, Intal 0.
BGK 93 - Vroman 26, Ababou 15, Helterbrand 14, Caguioa 11, Canaleta 8, Raymundo 8, Hatfield 4, Wilson W. 3, Labagala 2, Cortez 2, Wilson J. 0, Mamaril 0.
QS: 20-26, 46-45, 75-69, 109-93
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| Denzel Bowles slams one home as Mark Caguioa can only look on. |
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| James Yap hoists one over Willie Wilson. |
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| Mike Cortez looks on as the Kings drop their match against the Llamados. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and compiled from PBA.ph
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