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Carnival-like atmosphere continues for KIA as they take down TNT

After scoring wins over Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer and defending Commissioner’s Cup champion Purefoods, the KIA Carnival took down another giant as they defeated the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, 106-103, Wednesday afternoon at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

With 10 seconds left in the game, the Texters had one last shot to salvage an overtime period but Ranidel De Ocampo missed a top of the key three. Larry Fonacier grabbed an offensive rebound and ran towards the three-point line to hoist a three but he ran out of time as KIA’s bench exploded as they scored their first back-to-back wins in franchise history.

PJ Ramos led KIA once more with 24 points and 25 rebounds although he turned the ball over 10 times in the contest. However, it was Hyram Bagatsing who stole the show as he connected with six triples to total 21 points.

TNT held a one-point lead 96-95 with only four minutes left in the contest. But Bagatsing and Leo Avenido nailed back-to-back threes to give KIA a five-point lead.

With the Carnival missing free throws and committing turnovers, the Texters were able to inch closer. A triple from Fonacier cut the Carnival’s lead to three but this advantage stood until the final buzzer.

Castro led Talk ‘N Text with 24 points, four rebounds, and six assists while import Ivan Johnson added 21 points and 12 rebounds.

With this result, KIA moves up to the eighth spot with a 3-4 record while Talk ‘N Text slides down to second at 5-2.

The Carnival and Texters were stuck in a close battle to start the game. With the score tied at 18 with only four minutes left in the first quarter, TNT broke away with a 15-4 run to lead 33-22.

KIA refused to let the game slide that early as they connected with five triples in the second quarter. The last one, care of Leo Avenido got the Carnival within one, 51-50, at the half.

Aaron Aban led the Tropang Texters at the half with 12 points while Jayson Castro added 11. TNT import Ivan Johnson had a solid eight points and seven rebounds

Ramos already had a double-double at the half with 10 points and 12 rebounds while JR Buensuceso backed him up with seven.

The Texters engineered the first attack in the third quarter as they led by as much as five points but the Carnival continued to shoot well from beyond the arc.

With TNT lead 62-60 after a basket by Johnson, KIA went on a 10-1 run anchored on triples by Hyram Bagatsing to take a 70-63 advantage with still 5:28 left in the third. The Carnival held on to a 78-76 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Main Men: Ramos and Bagatsing powered an inside-outside offense for KIA as they combined for 45 points in the game.

Honorable Mentions: Avenido added 16 points for the Carnival while Reil Cervantes, Kyle Pascual, and JR Buensuceso added 10 each.

Game Turning Point: Back-to-back threes from Bagatsing and Avenido were huge for KIA but because of missed free throws, turnovers, and a bad shot late in the game for Cervantes, the Carnival needed one last stop in the end-game to complete the upset.

Stat of the Game: The game turned into a shootout with KIA taking 45 attempts from the three-point range while TNT had 36. The Carnival nailed 18 of their attempts compared to only 11 from the Texters.

Next Games:

KIA versus Blackwater on Feb. 28 in the San Juan Arena

Talk ‘N Text versus GlobalPort on March 1 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum

He Said It:

KIA head coach Manny Pacquiao: Nagpapasalamat ako sa lahat ng sumusuporta. Sa training, maganda ang ginagawa nila. Tatlong malalakas na teams na tinalo namin kaya yung kumpiyansa ng bawat isa nandun na.

The scores:

KIA 106 - Ramos 24, Bagatsing 21, Avenido 16, Pascual 10, Cervantes 10, Buensuceso 10, Revilla 5, Dehesa 5, Cawaling 3, Alvarez 2, Thiele 0, Poligrates 0, Pacquiao 0.

TALK N' TEXT 103 - Castro 24, Johnson 21, Fonacier 13, Rosser 12, Aban 12, De Ocampo 11, Reyes R.J. 6, Alas 4, Carey 0.

Quarter scores: 22-33, 50-51, 78-76, 106-103.