TALK ’N TEXT bounced back from a humiliating loss at the hands of Kia, pulling a much-needed 96-88 win against GlobalPort to grab the top spot in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Import Ivan Johnson came out with a better effort with 35 points, 20 rebounds and three steals to lead the Tropang Texters, who improved their win-loss mark to a league-best 6-2.
Ranidel de Ocampo added 25 markers, highlighted by six triples for Talk ’N Text, to erase the heartaches for its 103-106 loss to the Carnival the last time out.
“That’s not the motivation,” Tropang Texters Head Coach Jong Uichico said, referring to their defeat to Kia.
“Last conference, we were beaten by this team that could have put us one or two but we slid to three and four. And I think that’s the extra motivation for us going into this game,” he added.
Matt Ganuela added 13 markers for Talk ’N Text, which drew a silent five-point outing from main man Jayson Castro.
Terrence Romeo paced Batang Pier with 20 points while Calvin Warner posted another double-double performance with 19 points and 27 rebounds but it was not enough to help GlobalPort to annex its third straight win as the team dropped to 4-4.
Batang Pier were in the game after Dennis Miranda scored on a lay-up to cut Talk ’N Text’s lead to 74-79 with 7:25 left in the game.
De Ocampo hit a three-pointer that started an 11-4 run by the Tropang Texters to build a 90-78 spread under four minutes remaining.
Anthony Semerad sank a triple and Stanley Pringle added a lay-up to keep GlobalPort in the game, 83-90, but Johnson, who fouled out in the game against the Carnival, converted a three-point play and hit a three-pointer to put the game out of reach, 96-83, 2:13 left in the game.
Batang Pier never had an answer since then, as the wards of Head Coach Eric Gonzales denied of moving closer for a quarterfinal seat.
Talk ’N Text’s win sealed the team a slot in the next round and Uichico said they are aiming for a top-2 finish to get the twice-to-beat advantage.
“Our target is top 2. We still want to keep on winning. Kailangan focus on the next games,” said Uichico, who will give his wards two days off.
Image credits: PBA image