Kings seek 2-0 edge vs Beermen; Texters fully loaded, rout Bolts

MANILA, Philippines – TNT KaTropa came out bristling with a lot of fight and went on to put the lights off the Meralco Bolts.

The Texters shifted to higher gear in the second half and blasted the Bolts for a decisive 113-95 victory and the headstart in their PBA Governors Cup semifinal showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Texters lived up to their billing as the playoff top seeds, dismantling the Bolts, 39-24, in the third quarter and roaring on to sustain a dominant ride from the eliminations.

They hope to ride the momentum of their six-game romp in Game Two tomorrow at the same venue.

“Both teams were missing and making some shots in the first half. In the third, they missed some shots and we’re able to convert on the other end,” said TNT coach Jong Uichico.

“And as everybody will say, we haven’t accomplished anything yet and we can’t let our guards down as Meralco can come back,” Uichico added.

The Texters fired away 15-of-30 three-pointers to highlight their conquest of the Bolts where they took an 84-67 spread at the end of the third then led by as many as 24 at 113-89.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra guns for a 2-0 lead against San Miguel Beer in their side of the Final Four at 7 tonight, also at the Big Dome with Kings’ coach Tim Cone expecting a big comeback from the Beermen’s virtual All-Star starting unit.

Michael Madanly, Jayson Castro, Larry Fonacier, Kelly Williams and Michal Ammons teamed up in their third-quarter breakaway as the Texters broke away from a tight first half duel.

Meralco engaged TNT in a nip-and-tuck battle in the first 24 minutes, trailing by just two, 43-45, largely behind Allen Durham’s early double-double exploits.

Durham piled up 16 points and 13 rebounds as they fought the Texters through 16 lead changes and six deadlocks in the first half.

The Bolts, however, failed to keep up as the Texters stepped up their charge at the resumption of the contest.

Madanly, Ammons and Castro all delivered the bulk of their outputs in the second half, combining for 40 points after struggling for 11 in the opening half.

The Syrian import stood out as he sizzled with 4-of-6 three-pointers and a total of 20 markers after making only two in the first 24 minutes of play.

“Even when he was playing for NLEX, he’s known for his shooting. It’s his mindset,” said Uichico of Madanly, the scoring champ in the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship.

Uichico also had good words for Castro.

“We didn’t know the game plan of coach Norman (Black). So Jayson sized things up first. When he’s able to read it, his game came out naturally,” said Uichico.

“Jayson has been our pillar. It’s hard to have a winning team if you don’t have a good point guard. He’s known as a scoring point before. He’s improved on both facets of scoring and in setting up his teammates,” Uichico added.