2014 PBA Governors Cup Semifinals: Texters beat Mixers in OT to force Game 5!

Paul Harris carried TNT to a huge Game 4 win last night!

Game notes:
- Paul Harris continued to struggle with his shot (8/27 from the field), but he made up for it by grabbing 13 rebounds and handing out 3 assists. His counterpart, Marqus Blakely, also didn’t do too well, shooting just 5/17 from the floor.

- Jayson Castro made some questionable decisions in the endgame, but, overall, he still had a good game. He had 11 points, 5 boards, 2 steals, and 2 triples as TNT forced a fifth and final game in the series.

- Big Game James Yap was awesome in this match, scoring a game-high 23 points on the strength of 5 treys. He forced OT by hitting a one-handed midrange shot in the dying seconds of regulation.

- Coach Norman Black utilized 15 players in this game, with 11 Texters scoring at least 2 points. Coach Tim Cone, meanwhile, used a tight rotation with only nine Mixers seeing action.

Game recap by Rey Joble/InterAKTV:

TALK N TEXT over SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE, 84-81

Talk ‘N Text put itself in a position to complete an epic semifinal comeback after a tight overtime victory over San Mig Coffee, 84-81, in Game Four of their best-of-five PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang Texters, which fell behind 0-2 in the series, forced a fifth and deciding game after a tremendous show of heart in this one.

Paul Harris led the way with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the win. Jayson Castro and Larry Fonacier each added 11 to the Talk ‘N Text cause.

“We did what we had to do which is to fight another day,” Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black said after the game. “My guys gutted it out today.”

Talk ‘N Text dominated the early part of overtime, scoring seven unanswered points on a Ranidel De Ocampo three, an alley-oop finish from Kelly Williams and a layup from Harris – to take an 81-76 lead with under three minutes remaining.

Peter June Simon responded with a three-pointer on the other end to bring the Mixers to within two points, 81-79, but Larry Fonacier made a crucial basket after leaking out into transition to give his team an 83-79 lead with 38 seconds left.

San Mig Coffee import Marqus Blakely had a monster follow-up dunk with 23 seconds remaining to keep his team in the game but a split from Jayson Castro and a defensive stop at the end sealed the win for Talk ‘N Text.

The win overshadowed the heroics of San Mig Coffee star James Yap, who scored a team-high 23 points, including five three-pointers, and forced overtime with a game-tying shot at the buzzer.

Yap dominated stretches of the game in the first half to swing the momentum in his team’s favor.

After a hot Talk ‘N Text start, 19-10, the two-time PBA MVP scored eight straight points, including two three-pointers to bring San Mig Coffee to within a single point.

In the second quarter, the Tropang Texters took a five-point lead, 31-26, after veteran Danny Seigle scored all of the team’s points in a 7-2 blast.

But it was Yap again with the response, hitting two more threes to kickstart an 11-2 run for the Mixers to end the quarter.

The San Mig Coffee star finished the half with 16 points, already a personal-best for him in the tournament, on 4-for-5 shooting from long range.

The third was a nip-and-tuck affair, setting the stage for an exciting fourth and final quarter.

Fonacier, who has struggled all series long, caught fire at the right time, hitting back-to-back three-point bombs to lead Talk ‘N Text to a 12-2 run that gave them a 67-60 advantage with 8:16 remaining.

But Joe Devance scored five straight points and – after a jumper from Alapag – Yap hit his fifth three-point shot of the game to bring San Mig Coffee back to within one.

Talk ‘N Text looked to be in good position to sew the game up after Jayson Castro hit a three-pointer to make it 74-70 with 1:24 remaining.

They got a stop on the next play but Harris turned the ball over in the backcourt and Blakely capitalized with a quick basket.

With 3.9 seconds left, Yap sent the game into overtime after receiving an inbound pass and driving down the middle for his familiar one-handed runner right at the buzzer.

Black went deep into his bench, using 15 different players in the game.

It paid off as Fonacier, who was averaging 2.6 points per game in the semis, broke out of his slump while Elmer Espiritu played some quality minutes as well.

“I’m going to play as many guys as I can to win this series,” the Talk ‘N Text coach said.

San Mig Coffee, meanwhile, had all but two of their points come from just six players.

TNT 84 – Harris 22, Castro 11, Fonacier 11, De Ocampo 9, Seigle 7, Alapag 6, Williams 5, Espiritu 5, Ro. Reyes 3, Aban 3, Ry. Reyes 2, J. Reyes 0, Baclao 0, Carey 0, Canaleta 0.
SMC 81 – Yap 23, Blakely 12, Pingris 12, Simon 12, Barroca 11, Devance 9, Maliksi 2, Sangalang 0, Mallari 0.
QS: 22-19, 33-37, 55-56, 74-74, 84-81.