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Talk ’N
text coach Derrick Pumaren admitted he was disappointed
about their last two defeats.
So
before the Phone Pals left their locker room last night
for a game against the Sta. Lucia Realtors, Pumaren gave
his troops one strong message, which he wrote in bold
letters on the board: PLAY WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY.
Led by
Mark Cardona and Don Allado, the Phone Pals took to
heart their coach’s order and came away with a 99-84
rout of the struggling Realtors at the Araneta Coliseum
to snap a two-game slump.
Both
teams shot poorly in the first half but the Phone Pals
managed a comfortable lead at halftime by pounding the
Realtors off the boards.
“We
needed this win very badly and the players showed a lot
of character. They moved the ball well and they defended
very well,” Pumaren said.
While he
was relieved that his team remains in the middle of the
pack and in contention for an outright quarterfinal
spot, Pumaren said his troops fell short of expectation
of their goal halfway through the Talk ’N
Text-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta
conference.
“I
thought we could be a .600 team after the first half of
the elimination,” said Pumaren.
Cardona
scored 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Allado 22 to
show the way for the Phone Pals, who improved to a 4-5
(win-loss) record.
JJ
Sullinger had a bad shooting night, going 6-of-16 from
the field and finished with 19 points. But he was
6-for-6 from the foul line. As a team, Talk ’N Text went
14-for-14 from the stripe.
The
Phone Pals shot 38 percent in the first half, just a
little better than the Realtors (33 percent) but the
made up for it with strong rebounding. Talk ’N Text
outrebounded Sta. Lucia, 61-42.
Their
superiority off the boards earned them a 21-13 edge off
the offensive board that netted them 27 second-chance
points.
“I hope
we continue to play like this every night,” Pumaren
said.
After
falling behind, 27-46, at halftime, the Realtors grimly
fought back in the second half but couldn’t get their
game going as they continued to struggle offensively.
Their sloppy defense added to their woes.
Rookie
Kelly Williams scored 22 points but made just seven of
23 attempts from the field and Rock Winston added 21 for
the Realtors, who picked up their second straight loss
and closed out the first half of the eliminations with a
3-6 mark.
Sta.
Lucia shot just 37 percent for the game and made just 19
of 27 free throws.
Sixth
straight points by Williams pulled the Realtors within
20-29 with 8:22 left in the second quarter. But the
Phone Pals, starring Allado, Harvey Carey and Felix
Belano, responded with a 17-7 run and ripped the game
open. |
