Talk N Text Tropang Texters vs Powerade Tigers

MANILA, Philippines – Talk n Text wavered in the fourth quarter but recovered in time as it bucked Jvee Casio’s return and Gary David’s 30-point game, subduing Powerade, 102-96, for a commanding 2-0 lead in the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Larry Fonacier came through with a clutch basket from a broken play, Jimmy Alapag banged away a triple from way out then Ryan Reyes pulled off a crucial interception en route to a breakaway layup as the Tropang Texters eventually fended off the Tigers’ brave stand, 101-93, entering the final minute of the game.

In the end, Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes thought their good defense on David’s support crew spelled the big difference as they scored a follow-up to their big 116-100 victory in Game One Friday.

“It’s a privilege to have the courtside seat watching Gary David. You really can’t stop him. You just have to withstand him,” said Reyes.

“I kept on saying that and let’s make sure to stop the other players. He got his 30 points but we’re able to stop their other guys,” Reyes added.

Like in the series’ opener, the Tropang Texters came out with a well-balanced game with Alapag topscoring with 23 points and seven teammates adding at least seven markers as they cushioned the impact of David’s eighth 30-point game in the playoffs.

“Like I’d said it’s going to be a different game with Jvee playing. What Jvee does is allow Gary to score a lot,” said Reyes.

Doug Kramer also stood out with Casio back after sitting out Game One, piling up 14 points and 10 rebounds for his 17th double-double game in the tournament.

Casio delivered 17 points, three assists, two steals and one rebound while Marcio Lassiter added 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one shot block.

The rest of the Tigers, however, failed to step up.

The Texters took control most of the way, enjoying a 12-point lead at 89-77 before withstanding a Powerade fightback that saw the Tigers come to within one, 93-94, with 2:50 left to play.

“They just made their shots in the end,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol, not losing hope though losing the first two games of the best-of-seven series.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s 0-2 or 0-3. For as long as we have the chance, we’ll keep on fighting,” said Perasol.

Talk n Text threatened to pull away early, 34-25, but Powerade unloaded a key 20-5 salvo to surge ahead at 45-39.

The Tropang Texters, however, countered with a 17-6 tear to take the half at 56-51.

David and Alapag figured in a fierce shootout in the first half with the former scattering 21 points and the latter pouring in 16.

Alapag went 5-of-7 from the field and the whole TnT team converted 47.6 percent of their shots as against Powerade’s 34.8-percent clip as the Texters enjoyed the five-point cushion at the turn.