Texters struggle, but outlast pesky Boosters

In a week filled with upsets, Talk N Text was flirting with disaster against a team that has more defeats than victories the past three seasons — the Barako Bull Energy Boosters. But the Tropang Texters quickly changed the script and got back to their winning ways, pulling off a tense 84-83 victory over the Energy Boosters in the main game of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Jimmy Alapag came through with big plays with less than a minute to go to steer the Tropang Texters to the hairline win. Talk N Text was still nursing a painful 97-104 setback at the hands of defending champion Derby Ace Llamados, but Alapag steadied his team in the crucial moments. He dished off a perfect alley-oop pass to Kelly Williams, who scored on a thunderous throw-down with 58 seconds left that gave the Tropang Texters an 82-77 lead. After unproductive sequences for both teams, Sunday Salvacion hit a triple to shove the Energy Boosters closer at 80-82 with 2.9 seconds left. Barako Bull quickly fouled Alapag in the next play, and the cool and calculating guard sank both charities for the win. Salvacion hit another triple at the buzzer for the final tally. Leading by 12, 71-59, with less than seven minutes left, it looked like the Tropang Texters were headed for a trouble-free finish. But the Energy Boosters had other things in mind. Barako Bull fought its way back with a furious 16-5 rally to close in at 75-76,with 2:22 left, making a game of it. Led by Alapag, the Texters held their ground to avoid a second straight loss. "Barako would not go away. They're a scrappy team and well coached. But it’s important that we didn’t get frustrated. Even though they were hanging in there, we made sure that we remained in control," said Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes, who will also join the Smart Gilas national developmental team to the Asian Games as part of the coaching staff. The win shoved Talk ‘N Text back into a share of the lead with San Miguel at identical 6-2 slates. Barako Bull dropped its second straight game for a 2-5 mark to join B-Meg Derby Ace at the cellar. Reyes remains worried over how his team continues to have a hard time against squads with a below .500 winning percentage. ‘’We have no problem with our effort and with our game when we play the top-ranked teams, but when we play the below .500 teams we struggle big time. That’s one thing we need to work on,’’ added Reyes. Jason Castro added 12 points and six rebounds. Jared Dillinger and Ali Peek each had 11 for the Tropang Texters, who were off to a jackrabbit start, zooming to a 17-4 advantage. But the Energy Boosters fought their way back and managed to come to within three, 34-37, at the half. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV