Talk and Text routs Petron; takes 2-1 lead

Source : Nelson Beltran, The Philippine Star

Jimmy Alapag

MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text turned what was billed as an all-out war into a virtual scrimmage in the end as it ran Petron Blaze to the ground for the second straight game and stormed ahead, 2-1, in the PBA Governors Cup best-of-seven finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

In a virtual repeat of Game Two, the Tropang Texters imposed their up-tempo game to break away in the second half and pull off another emphatic triumph, 132-105, to move within two wins of a grand slam feat.
Petron Blaze forward Arwind Santos, who had won MVP awards in the UAAP and in the PBL, also distinguished himself as the best in the pro league as he claimed the Best Player honors.
It’s another rugged and highly emotional match ending with Petron coach Ato Agustin challenging Talk n Text counterpart Chot Reyes to a fight on the way to the dugouts.
“After I offered my hand he challenged me to a fight, called me a sissy,” Reyes said. “I don’t know what he’s upset about. I have too much respect for Ato to do that.”
Agustin shrugged off the incident, saying: “I just congratulated him.”
The Texters wore down the Boosters with a vicious run-and-gun game, opening leads of more than 30 points and showing no-mercy against their rivals they had skirmishes the last time in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.
The TnT crew was every inch the back-to-back champion that it is, breaking Petron’s back as early as the third quarter and reducing the fourth period to a virtual scrimmage.
“Before the game, we talked about imposing our game – pushing, pushing and attacking, and hopefully finding the time that they break down. That’s our game; no secret to it ,” said Reyes.
“The key now is to anticipate what they’re going to do. We hope to continue putting the pressure on them,” Reyes added.
The Texters ran on all cylinders in the last three quarters, pouring in at least 29 points in each period.
“They played so well that we just couldn’t stop them. They beat us on all departments,” said Agustin.

So sharp were the Texters that they bamboozled the Boosters with a 67.1-percent shooting clip. Impressive were the Texters’ 16-of-28 three-point shooting.

Jason Castro topscored with 23 points coming off the bench while Scottie Reynolds, Larry Fonacier, Aaron Aban, Jimmy Alapag and Kelly Williams added at least 12 each.
Talk n Text banked on a balanced offense to neutralize the strong start of Denok Miranda, Danny Ildefonso and Anthony Grundy, forging a 24-all deadlock in the opening quarter.
Miranda, Ildefonso and Grundy put in at least seven each but the rest went scoreless in the first 12 minutes of play.
Stepping up their game in the next period, the Texters took the half at 63-52 and never looked back from there.
The scores:
TALK N’ TEXT 132 - Castro 23, Reynolds 17, Fonacier 16, Aban 15, Alapag 15, Williams 12, Reyes 9, De Ocampo 8, Carey 6, Peek 6, Dillinger 3, Lao 2, Oreta 0, Alvarez 0.
PETRON 105 - Grundy 26, Miranda 22, Ildefonso 18, Guevarra 14, Cabagnot 9, Salvacion 5, Pennisi 5, Santos 3, Hubalde 3, Baclao 0, Duncil 0.
Quarters: 24-24, 63-52, 103-70, 132-105