PBA: Texters outrun, outgun toothless Tigers

Make that a double whammy for Powerade. Still staggered by the sound beating they received at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen, the Tigers found themselves beaten black and blue anew, this time by the fully-loaded Talk N Text Tropang Texters. Four days after suffering a 25-point blowout at the hands of the Beermen, the Tigers were at the receiving end of yet another massacre, 108-89, Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. The Tigers willingly engaged the Tropang Texters in a free-wheeling match and dearly paid for it. With Kelly Williams and Jimmy Alapag at the helm, the conference co-leaders went on a rampage in the second and third quarters, outscoring Powerade by 29 big points. The Tropang Texters then cruised to their fourth win in five outings. “I told the boys to be prepared for a track meet because we will be up against a team that loves to run. But the team got their running shoes on and beat Powerade in a run-and-gun game," said Talk N Text coach Chot Reyes. “That’s exactly what happened. We felt we could score 120 points. The game went right down our alley." Williams outdid himself on this night. Averaging just 8.3 points, the former league MVP finished with a personal conference-best of 21 points behind 9-of-14 shooting from the field, while also grabbing 16 rebounds. Ali Peek came off the bench and added 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Alapag hit 16 markers, highlighted by a rare four-point play.

The win, according to Reyes, gave back their confidence after the Tropang Texters suffered their first loss — a 95-93 setback at the hands of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters — on a game-winning jumper by Sol Mercado in the final 1.5 seconds. More than getting back into the winning mode, Reyes felt the victory was a big morale booster going to their much-awaited showdown with defending champion Alaska. “That would be a real acid test for us. This victory is a a good preparation for us because we have Alaska next," said Reyes. “We’re going to put this game behind us and focus on the next game at hand." Making the win even more impressive was the absence of key players Ranidel de Ocampo and Ryan Reyes from Talk `N Text’s active roster. The 6-foot-7 De Ocampo is still recovering from surgeries that removed bone spurs from both his ankles, while Reyes sat out for the second straight game to rest a sprained left ankle. But the Tropang Texters hardly felt their absence as they even led by as large as 32 points on the way to handing Powerade their second straight loss for a 2-3 card overall. Peek gave Talk `N Text its biggest lead, 88-56, with 2:31 remaining in the third quarter, where the Tropang Texters outscored the Tigers 36-20 after gaining a 31-18 scoring advantage in the second period. Gary David and William Antonio finished with 17 points each to pace Powerade. Talk `N Text began to apply the pressure on Powerade starting in the second period by becoming more assertive on the defensive end. The Tropang Texters held the Tigers to 0-for-6 shooting from the field in a four-minute span. They turned the Tigers' miscues into a 16-0 run, erasing a 35-36 deficit to take a commanding 51-36 lead. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV