PBA: Texters erase 17-point lead to rally past Ginebra

The Tropang Talk n' Texters reestablished themselves as the best team in the league by defeating Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 87-80, Sunday, in the last game of the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round at the Mall of Asia Arena. Talk n' Text, the top seed after the elimination rounds, stormed back against a 17-point hole in the third quarter. They outscored Ginebra, 32-11 in the final 16 minutes of the game. Veteran center Ali Peek registered a huge double-double with 16 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks. TNT will take a twice-to-beat advantage against the Air 21 Express in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Ginebra will play the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in a best-of-three series.   In the first quarter, LA Tenorio and Elmer Espiritu connected on jumpers to give Ginebra an early 5-0 lead, but they soon had to play catch-up against Jayson Castro and the rest of TNT's relentless drives to the rim. A contested layup by Mark Caguioa knotted the score at 11-all. With under six minutes to play, Ali Peek and Jimmy Alapag scored at the rim to combine for eight of TNT's next 10, but Ginebra stuck around thanks to baskets inside from Billy Mamaril and Rudy Hatfield to stay close, 23-22, after twelve minutes of play. Rob Labagala and Tenorio each hit from beyond the arc to contribute to a 12-6 run in the second quarter. The Talk n' Texters found little production beyond Castro and found themselves trailing, 35-29. A jumper by Peek with under six minutes to play ended a four-minute drought from the field for TNT, but they were unable to bottle up Ginebra's uptempo attack, as Caguioa buried a trey to add five points in their ensuing 9-2 run for the Gin Kings. WIth just over a minute left in the half, Harvey Carey was called for a technical fout for an inadvertent blow to Caguioa's head as the latter went for a layup. Tenorio made the penalty shot, as Peek returned the favor with a drive to cut the lead back to single digits, 45-37. Caguioa continued to assert himself beneath the rim to score Ginebra's last four of the period. Castro was fouled on the drive as time expired, then split his charities as the Talk n' Texters continued to trail after two quarters, 49-38. TNT was limited to just five field goals in the second quarter. The game took on a more physical tone in the third period, and the referees began handing out technical fouls to control the game. Castro was assessed a technical for physical contact with an official, and so was TNT head coach Norman Black for continuous complaining with the call. Moments later, Mamaril was called for a technical as well, but Castro missed the bonus free throw. Ginebra pushed their advantage on a frustrated TNT squad as Tenorio and Kirby Raymundo scored eight in a 9-3 run. They opened up a 17-point lead, 58-41, their biggest in the game with eight minutes left in the quarter. The Texters found their composure as Castro's began to convert on his drives. At the same time, TNT's shooters began to find their range, as Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams drained treys to uncork a 15-7 run that brought the deficit back to single digits. Ginebra countered by drawing fouls, as Yousef Taha and Raymundo made 4 of 6 from the line to widen the margin anew, 69-56, with four minutes and a half to play. But Kelly Williams led a spirited run for TNT, scoring five points in a 12-4 rally to close the quarter. Ginebra managed only a single field goal in the last four minutes, Tenorio's fifth three-ball, as their lead was whittled to five, 73-68. With their opponents still reeling, TNT extended their rally in the fourth quarter with an 11-4 blast, including a pair of aggressive layups from Castro. The Talk n' Texters took a two-point lead on a bucket by Peek, 79-77, with five minutes remaining in the game. After struggling against TNT's lockdown defense, Rico Maierhoffer drove to the rim to notch Ginebra's second field goal of the quarter, 83-79, with three minutes remaining. Larry Fonacier countered with a triple from the right wing to extend the lead to seven. On the next possession, Caguioa was fouled from beyond the arc but missed two of three charities. Castro was then fouled and split at the line with a minute and change to play. Ginebra found looks in the paint but couldn't find the hole late, as the Texters dribbled the ball till the game buzzer, 87-80. Ginebra couldn't capitalize on their time from the charity stripe. They made only 19 of 37 attempts, or 51.4 percent. In contrast, TNT made 20 of 23 shots from the line, or 87 percent. - RAF, GMA News The scores: TALK N' TEXT 87 - Castro 24, Peek 16, Williams 13, Fonacier 11, Reyes 8, Alapag 6, De Ocampo 4, Aban 3, Dillinger 2, Ferriols 0, Carey 0. GINEBRA 80 - Caguioa 20, Tenorio 19, Raymundo 10, Maierhofer 4, Mamaril 4, Hatfield 4, Ellis 3, Labagala 3, Helterbrand 3, Taha 2, Jensen 2, Maliksi 2, Espiritu 2, Wilson 2. Quarters: 23-22, 38-49, 68-73, 87-80