PBA: In sole elimination round meeting, Talk 'N Text outlasted Rain or Shine

2012-13 Philippine Cup Finals opponents Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters faced off just once in the elimination round, with the Texters coming away with an 80-77 victory, last October 27, in an out-of-town game in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.

It was a game of missing pieces however, as Talk 'N Text played without scoring machine Jayson Castro, while Rain or Shine was minus their top draft picks of the past two seasons, Chris Tiu and Paul Lee.

The Tropang Texters came back from 13 points down, midway through the third quarter, but the Elasto Painters still had a chance to win on the final possession of the game, only for J.R. Quiñahan's triple bounced off the rim to the right.

TnT entered that game with one goal: stop Jeff Chan. The 2012 Governors' Cup MVP came in norming 23 points per game, with a five-game low of 13 points. But the Texters shut Chan down, limiting him to just four markers on 1-of-8 shooting. In response, Rain or Shine went to their bigs, as Jervy Cruz, Larry Rodriguez, Quiñahan, and Beau Belga combined for 44 of their side's 77 markers.

On the other side, the Texters got some balanced offense, with contributions from both their bigs and their guards. Veteran Jimmy Alapag led the way with a vintage performance -  15 points, seven assists and two steals versus just a single turnover, while Ranidel De Ocampo posted a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

All season long, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao has always been critical about the way his team rebounds, and this game was a good example why. TNT got five more rebounds total, 57-to-52, three more on the offensive end, 13-to-10, but it was the defending champs that converted better, getting 11 second-chance points compared to a mere two from RoS.

Talk 'N Text also outran their foes, getting a 14-4 edge in fast break points. They also got to the foul line more often, converting 20-of-37 from the stripe, against a 14-of-29 clip by the Elasto Painters, their second-worst performance of the Philippine Cup.

You can read the full recap of this game by clicking here: "Talk 'N Text completes comeback, improves to 6-0"

The Philippine Cup Finals begin on January 9. - AMD, GMA News



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