PBA: Talk n' Text holds 'Big Game' James to nine points, wins fourth straight

The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters got a measure of revenge as their locals came to play on Wednesday, beating the B-MEG Llamados 89-72, in a rematch of their Commissioner's Cup Finals series, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup.

It was the fourth straight victory for the surging Texters, who started out with just a single win in their first four games.


Fresh from last weekend's 58 point output against B-MEG sister team Barangay Ginebra, the Texters' big three of Ranidel De Ocampo, Jason Castro and Larry Fonacier did it again, racking up 46 points to steer their team to victory.

The Llamados took the lead once early in the first quarter, 7-5, but that was the last of it, as the Texters went on a 17-3 run to grab a comfortable 22-10 advantage heading to the second period.

B-MEG tried to recover, bringing the lead down to eight, 25-17, but the Texters were quick to counter at the other end of the floor.

A James Yap three brought the lead down to nine yet again, 34-25, but sweet outside shooting from the Talk 'N Text guards bumped the lead up to 14 heading into halftime, 41-27.

In the third, Jimmy Alapag started hot, nailing back-to-back three's to hike up their advantage to 15, 49-34, before Josh Urbiztondo hit his own pair of trifectas to keep B-MEG alive, 55-46. The Llamados weren't able to get any closer though, as the third ended with Talk n' Text still up by 10, 63-53.

In the final period, Talk n' Text found a finisher in All-Filipino Cup Finals MVP Fonacier, who peppered the quarter with points from start to finish, en route to an 89-72 win for his team.


"I think the key was Aban and Reyes' defense on James," said Talk n' Text head coach Chot Reyes, with his defenders limiting the Commissioner's Cup Finals MVP James Yap to just nine points on 2-of-18 shooting.

Only import Marcus Blakely and Josh Urbiztondo scored in double figures for the Llamados with 19 and 14 points, respectively. Blakely also added 16 boards for a double-double, plus three rebounds, three steals and two blocks, but he was unable to shoulder the scoring burden for his side.

His counterpart on the Talk 'N Text side, Paul Harris, produced 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and two blocks, and was one of five Texters that finished in double-figures.

The win did not come without a cause for concern for the Texters, as Aaron Aban was taken out with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. Aban, who had just recovered from an ACL injury on his left knee, found the same joint sandwiched between colliding players Marqus Blakely and Japeth Aguilar.

"Kay Aban, yun yung na-ACL e. [I] hope it's nothing serious. He's been playing with tremendous courage. Tonight he's gonna take an MRI and we're gonna find out tomorrow," added Reyes.

The two opponents tied each other in the standings, with similar 5-3 records. The Llamados will close out the elimination round on Saturday, in an out-of-town game in Albay against the Powerade Tigers, while the Tropang Texters will try to be just the second team to plant a loss on the record of the league-leading Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday. — ELR/AMD, GMA News


The scores:

TALK N' TEXT 89 - Fonacier 16, Castro 15, De Ocampo 15, Harris 14, Williams 11, Alapag 9, Aguilar 4, Reyes 3, Aban 2, Gamalinda 0, Peek 0.

B-MEG 72 - Blakely 19, Urbiztondo 14, Yap 9, Reavis 8, De Ocampo 6, Barroca 4, Intal 4, Villanueva 4, Pingris 4, Simon 0.

Quarter scoring: 22-10, 41-27, 63-53, 89-72