Tropang Texters make Japeth, GlobalPort look ordinary
Talk ‘N Text emphatically sent a strong message to Japeth Aguilar and Co.: GlobalPort still has a lot of catching up to do.
Using a balanced offensive attack, the Tropang Texters cruised to a masterful 99-79 victory over the Batang Pier Wednesday night to provisionally gain a share of second spot in the PBA Commissioners Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Coming off a nervy 86-83 win over Air21 last Friday, Talk ‘N Text made it look easy against the upstart GlobalPort, hitting its stride in the second canto and fully asserting its might in the second half.
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Ace playmaker Jimmy Alapag came off the bench and tallied 15 points and seven assists to lead four other teammates with at least 13 markers as Talk N’ Text improved to 2-1, joining Barako Bull and archrival Petron, which is playing against Meralco at posting time.
Import Keith Benson tallied game-highs of 20 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks while Jayson Castro added 19 markers for Talk ‘N Text, which made life miserable for GlobalPort in the second half.
The Batang Pier, who dropped to 2-2, were held down to just 34 points in the final 24 minutes of play and a horrendous 25-of-81 (30.9 percent) shooting overall.
“We were able to accomplish what we wanted to do in this game,” stated TNT coach Norman Black. “After our last game, we were last in defense. We basically won because we held our own on the boards.”
“For us, it was a big test. A lot of people were making a big fuzz on this game against Japeth. We never anticipated the (marginal) score being big because we always respect our opponents,” he added.
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Gary David came up 19 points, nine coming in the opening quarter, but missed his eight three-point attempts while import Justin Williams, who dominated Barangay Ginebra with a monstrous 23-point, 23-rebound outing last Friday, was held down to just 19 markers and 15 rebounds.
The 6-foot-9 Aguilar, who was traded by TNT in exchange for fellow Atenean Rabeh Al-Hussaini last month, hardly make his presence felt, struggling with just four points on 1-of-8 shooting and seven rebounds–a far cry from his near double-double averages of 15.7 markers and 9.3 boards in the first three games.
Sol Mercado, the league’s leader in assists with 13.3 per game, failed to get his groove against the TNT’s swarming defense, getting just three dimes plus 14 points and nine rebounds.
“Anytime you have Japeth and Sol in your team, you become a contender. But we did a pretty decent job limiting them. I think it’s a total team effort,” noted the 5-foot-9 Alapag.
With David and Williams leading the way, GlobalPort got off to a strong start and even led by as many as 17-11, leading to a 27-22 advantage after the first 12 minutes.
Talk ‘N Text then started to assert its defensive fangs in the second canto, holding the Batang Pier to just 18 while forcing them to commit seven turnovers en route to a 49-45 cushion at the break.
With GlobalPort’s offensive schemes starting to get sporadic, TNT dropped a decisive 17-8 attack–capped by an Alapag triple–that stretched its lead to 66-53 midway in the third.
The Batang Pier, getting quality minutes from rookie AJ Mandani, pulled within 67-73 early in the fourth but the Tropang Texters–although already over the foul limit–uncorked a blinding 16-4 onslaught for a commanding 89-71 spread, virtually sealing the deal with 5:21 to go.
The scores:
TALK N' TEXT (99) – Benson 20, Castro 19, Alapag 15, Dillinger 14, Fonacier 13, Al-Hussaini 6, De Ocampo 4, Carey 4, Gamalinda 2, Williams 2, Raymundo 0, Reyes 0, Alvarez 0.
GLOBALPORT (79) – Williams 19, David 19, Mercado 14, Yee 7, Mandani 4, Aguilar 4, Salvador 4, Adducul 4, Deutchman 2, Miller 2, Aljamal 0.
Quarters: 22-27, 49-45, 71-61, 99-79
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