PBA: Aguilar hits game-winning three to lead Ginebra past Talk n Text

Japeth Aguilar hit what turned out to be the game-winning triple, before coming up with a crucial stop on the other end, as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel defeated the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, 97-95, on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Ginebra bounced back from their first loss of the conference, versus the Meralco Bolts, to improve to 4-1, while Talk 'N Text saw their two-game winning streak snapped to settle for a 3-2 card and slow fourth place.

TNT headed into the payoff period with a 12-point edge, before Mac Baracael started ringing in some shots to cut his team's deficit to nine, 82-73. A six-point swing from Japeth Aguilar, Chris Ellis and Greg Slaughter then made it a three-point affair with eight minutes remaining, 82-79.

Kelly Williams briefly stopped the bleeding for TNT, but a put-back from Slaughter was followed up by a Baracael long bomb to tie the game at 84-all. The Texters then bit back, as Jayson Castro and Larry Fonacier combined for four to put the Texters up by one.

A split by Mac Baracael tied the game anew at 88-all, before Larry Fonacier lost the ball to the sidelines. The two teams came up empty on their next possessions, with TNT struggling to get calls on the break. A Mac Baracael trey with 2:21 remaining finally pushed Ginebra ahead, 91-88, forcing coach Norman Black to call for time for his Tropang Texters.

A missed dunk by Kelly Williams led to a split from the line by Ellis with 1:59 to go, but Alapag canned three charities to reduce Ginebra's lead to one, 92-91. Baracael opted to post up Fonacier in the next play, but the former FEU standout was met b Kelly Williams on his pivot. Williams ended up blocking the shot, before going for a follow-up that pushed TNT ahead by one with 62 seconds remaining in the game.

After a timeout, Ginebra went to Aguilar for a drive as Ginebra claimed the edge anew. A catch and shoot from Alapag to Fonacier netted two, as the Barangay set up the winning shot with 22 seconds remaining. LA Tenorio milked the clock, before whipping a pass to Japeth Aguilar who connected from deep, putting Ginebra up by two with 1.1 seconds to go.

"Last play namin, pick and roll kay Japeth talaga," said Ginebra head coach Ato Agustin. "[I] told them go hard sa basket dahil penalty; swerte lang napunta sa three points pumasok."

After burning their final timeout, TNT went to Ranidel De Ocampo for the fadeaway, but Aguilar was there to swat the ball away and preserve their win.

It was a sad end for Talk 'N Text as they led most of the way against a Ginebra squad that saw LA Tenorio and Mark Caguioa play limited minutes due to illness.

Japeth Aguilar shrugged off a poor first half to finish with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a whopping seven blocks. Chris Ellis had his best game of the conference with 17 markers and four boards, while 2013 first overall pick Greg Slaughter put up 16 points, nine boards and two swats against his collegiate coach Norman Black.

Jayson Castro led all scorers with 27 markers, thanks in part to a crisp 4-of-5 clip from downtown. He also had six assists. Larry Fonacier poured in 23 points, and Sean Anthony scored 12.

The Tropang Texters dominated the hustle points, 20-10 in second-chance scoring, 20-8 in points off turnovers, while edging Ginebra slightly in fast break points, 18-17. However, Barangay Ginebra was more accurate from long-range (10-of-25 versus 6-of-22), and TNT's offense sputtered in the fourth period, giving up 29 markers while scoring just 15.  - AMD, GMA News