A pair of stone-cold stunners tonight as erstwhile
top two clubs Alaska and San Miguel get upset by Rain or Shine and Talk N Text
respectively!
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| Top: Jericho Cruz pushed the Painters past the fancied Aces. Bottom: Jayson Castro led the Texters over the Beermen. |
Game Capsules (adapted from InterAKTV):
RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO-PAINTERS over ALASKA ACES, 98-95
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters made their move up
the PBA Philippine Cup standings after rookie Jericho Cruz made some big plays
in the final minute to lift the team to a tough 98-95 victory over Alaska at
the SMART-Araneta Coliseum. Cruz grabbed a key offensive rebound off a Jeff
Chan miss and stuck it back to give Rain or Shine a 96-95 lead with 18.5
seconds remaining before putting the final touches on the game with a breakaway
layup in the dying seconds. The rookie finished with 16 points on 6-for-7 FG
shooting to help lead the Elasto-Painters to an 8-2 mark, moving ahead of their
victims at 8-3. Paul Lee led the way with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 5
assists. The Rain or Shine star knocked down a clutch three-pointer that tied
the game at 93-all with 33.8 seconds left to play. Beau Belga also had a
double-double with 16 points and 12 boards, while Gabe Norwood added 12
markers. On the other end, Calvin Abueva paced Alaska anew, scoring 18 points
on 8/13 FG shooting, but he committed 7 turnovers. Eric Menk did well here,
too, dropping 16 markers and hauling 9 boards in a losing cause.
Line of the
Game: Beau Belga - 16 points, 12
rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 4 triples. |
| Beau Belga had a whale of a game against the Aces. |
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| Cyrus Baguio and the Aces failed to get an outright ticket to the semifinals. |
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| Gabe Norwood shows some hang time against Alaska. |
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| Rookie wingman Jericho Cruz came up big in the clutch to help ROS stay in contention for an outright semis berth. |
TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS over SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN,
107-101
The Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters remained in the mix
for one of the two outright semifinal spots after picking up an all-important
victory over league-leading San Miguel, 107-101, in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Jayson Castro had 19 points and 12 assists, while Jay Washington finished with
19 to lead a total of six Talk ‘N Text players in double figures. The victory
drew the Texters even with Alaska at third spot as both have 8-3 records. San
Miguel, meanwhile, dropped into a tie with Rain or Shine at 8-2. Though the
Tropang Texters already clinched the twice-to-beat advantage for the
quarterfinals, they still have a chance to sneak into the top two if Rain or
Shine loses its final elimination round game against Barangay Ginebra. The game
was tied at 96-all with just three minutes remaining before Talk ‘N Text fired
off seven unanswered points to gain some distance on San Miguel, which was
paced by Chris Lutz’s season-high 25 points. Big men June Mar Fajardo and
Arwind Santos backed him up with a combined output of 34 points and 21 boards,
while recent addition Jeric Fortuna tallied 15 markers in under 13 minutes.
Line of the
Game: Jayson Castro - 19 points, 12
assists, 3 rebounds, 2 triples.
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| Jayson Castro ran rings around the Beermen as TNT muddled up the picture for the top four teams. |
Images by Nuki Sabio/PBA.
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