Talk N Text extends it to 8

Talk N Text posted a franchise record of eight straight wins and assured itself of a twice-to-beat privilege in the Samsung PBA Governors Cup quarterfinals by drubbing a skidding Red Bull side, 98-90, last night at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Jerald Honeycutt, coming off a triple-double performance, dished out another highly productive outing and his teammates put up a solid backup job as the Phone Pals kept their amazing unbeaten run which started with their 95-62 demolition of RP Hapee nearly seven weeks ago.

In that stretch following a losing debut to Purefoods, Talk N Text had surpassed its previous franchise record of seven consecutive wins, and it was enough for the team to secure outright spot in the Magic Four.

The Phone Pals gain top seeding in the matchup quarterfinals with one more win in their last two games against the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Airfreight 2100/FedEx Express.

The Thunder suffered a third straight loss and fell in a three-way tie at fourth place with the Express and the Sta. Lucia Realtors with identical 5-4 win-loss cards.

"We knew we’re getting Red Bull at their best. And it was a fun game to coach. I told my boys they have to drink some Red Bull because we’re up for a tough game against Red Bull," said Talk N Text coach Bill Bayno.

"They (the Thunder) did a good job, making good defensive adjustments, but the boys handled it well," Bayno added.

True enough, the Phone Pals found the right answers on all the defensive plays thrown at them by the Thunder. Honeycutt threw his weight around the paint when Red Bull played man-to-man and Mark Telan and Richie Frahm hit from a far from the Thunder shifted to zone.

Honeycutt, Telan and Frahm combined for more than three-fourth of the team’s total output, including 14 point in the fourth quarter. Telan and Frahm had a three-pointer each in a decisive 8-2 run the Phone Pals unleashed to restore a commanding lead at 92-85 entering the final two minutes of play.

Actually, Red Bull gained little success as it shifted to zone at the start of the fourth quarter. The Thunder came up with a number of defensive stops and Lordy Tugade and Nelson Asaytono translated some of them to key baskets as they came within one at 83-84 after trailing by as many as 12.

Tony Lang played much, much better than his comeback for Red Bull last Thursday, tallying 29 points, 14 rebounds and two assists against three turnovers. But Honeycutt put in bigger numbers with 35 points, 16 rebounds, five steals, four assists and three blocks.