TALK ‘N TEXT leaned on the clutch shooting of Larry Fonacier and Jayson Castro in the payoff period to eke out an 80-75 win over Barako Bull in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fonacier and Castro hit timely three-pointers that gave the Tropang Texters the needed separation and held off the repeated rallies of the Energy to bounce back from a loss and tied their victims in the standings with 3-1 win-loss card each.
The win snapped Barako Bull’s unbeaten start in the tournament.
Castro led Talk ‘N Text’s balanced scoring with 16 points, Matt Ganuelas added 15 markers.
Two-time Most Valuable Player Willie Miller came off the bench and contributed 13 markers for the Tropang Texters, who also drew 11 points apiece from import Richard Howell and Ranidel de Ocampo. Howell also grabbed 18 rebounds, while Fonacier had 10 points, six came in the pivotal fourth period.
“We still have to get better. We had a good first half but I don’t think we did a good second half,” said Talk ‘N Text Head Coach Jong Uichico, whose team led by 10, 47-37, going to the break.
“We just escaped with the win. We’ve got to find a way to get more points on the board,” he added.
Barako Bull’s offense finally got going and cut the Tropang Texters’ lead to 59-62 and tied the game at 69-all on Chico Lanete’s drive with 6:22 remaining.
Talk ‘N Text responded with a 10-2 run with Castro hitting two treys and Fonacier one to take a 79-71 cushion with 2:04 remaining. Barako Bull missed some easy baskets in the ensuing plays to absorb its first loss in the tournament.
Solomon Alabi had another solid game for the team of Coach Koy Banal with 21 points, 24 rebounds and five blocks. Carlo Lastimosa and Jake Pascual contributed 16 and 12 points, respectively, for the Energy.
Lanete, one of the reasons Barako Bull had a 3-0 start, was held down to just five points on two-of-eight shooting from the field in almost 30 minutes of play.
Image credits: PBA Image