Filtered By: Sports
Sports

PBA: Fourth quarter rampage gives Tropang Texters 1st win


MANILA, Philippines - Talk 'n Text poured everything in the fourth quarter when it scored 44 points on the way to a 133-111 rout of Coca-Cola and barge into the win column of the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup at the Astrodome Wednesday night. Import Tiras Wade showed the way for the reigning Philippine Cup champions with 38 points while Jimmy Alapag had nine of his 26 during that pivotal stretch in the fourth when the Tropang Texters ripped the game apart. The Tropang Texters tied the Tigers at 1-2 after losing their first two games of the import-laden meet. Coach Chot Reyes hopes the slow start won’t be a big hindrance in the team’s bid to score a sweep of the 2008-09 season. “We’re cramming to get into shape," said Reyes. “Hopefully, it’s not too late." “I’m worried because we had to score 130 points to win a game," said Reyes. “We scored 120 against Purefoods and still we lost. We have to find a way to play better defense." In all, the Tropang Texters attempted 100 shots from the field. They led the biggest at 132-109 in the waning seconds of a game fought tightly for three quarters. Talk ‘N Text only led by 89-87 going into the fourth period before unleashing a 20-6 run capped by back-to-back triples from Alapag. That superb display of offensive brilliance was exactly what the Texters needed to tame the Tigers, who saw themselves trailing 109-93 with 6:47 left in the game. JJ Sullinger led Coca-Cola with 32 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. But the Tigers’ temporary import only had three in the final quarter. Alex Cabagnot and Asi Taulava each had 18 points for Coke. Cabagnot also added seven assists while Taulava pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds for the Tigers, who had 21 more free throw attempts than the Texters (43-22). -GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT