PBA: Fonacier's late triple lifts TNT over Rain or Shine in Finals game one

By JOB B. DE LEON

Published January 9, 2013 9:06pm

Paul Lee (R) and company struggled to contain TNT's speedy guards, especially Best Player of the Conference nominee Jayson Castro. Photo by KC Cruz

(Updated 9:30pm) After the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters cut an 18-point deficit to three, Larry Fonacier hit a dagger trey to hand his Talk n' Text Tropang Texters game one of the best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup Finals series, 87-81, on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Texters, who hit 10 three-pointers, compared to just four by the Elasto Painters, are bidding to win three straight All-Filipino titles and hoist up the Perpetual Trophy. [Review the play-by-play of this game here] "We're just trying to win games. If we win by half a point, that's good enough for me," said Talk 'N Text head coach Norman Black. The Texters were up by as much as 18 before the Elasto Painters cut it to three with three minutes remaining. The number one team in the league then relied on clutch shots by Larry Fonacier and Jayson Castro for the much-needed separation to escape with the win.

The Texters entered halftime with a 51-39 advantage after a 9-0 run to start the second. Back-to-back treys from Ranidel De Ocampo to begin the latter half of the game had Talk n' Text ahead, 57-41, before Jervy Cruz and Paul Lee combined for seven straight to keep the Elasto Painters within striking distance, 59-49.

A breakaway lay-up followed by a triple from rookie Chris Tiu brought the lead down to eight, 65-57, at the 2:32 mark, but Larry Fonacier and Pamboy Raymundo hit back with a pair of three's to put the Texters ahead, 71-58, at the end of the third.

Two free throws from Gabe Norwood made it an eight-point game with 6:29 remaining in the game, but Jeff Chan would miss a reverse lay-up to cut the lead even further.

Jimmy Alapag drove for two after a Talk 'N Text timeout, as Norwood replied with a short baseline jumper. 79-71. A pair of freethrows from Cruz, followed by a Jireh Ibañes drive ate further into their opponent's lead, making it a four-point game, 79-75, with 4:11 to go.

A split from Norwood made it a three-point game, but Larry Fonacier connected on a big-time three to make it a six-point game anew. [Related: Three-point shooting woes led to Rain or Shine's defeat - Guiao]

Chan responded with a quick jumper at the other end, before Jayson Castro blew by the Rain or Shine defense for two more points, 84-78.

The 2012 Governors' Cup Finals MVP would miss a trey for the Elasto Painters, while Norwood salvaged a split from the line. A steal by Lee gave Rain or Shine a fresh possession, but a one-on-one move by Chan on Dillinger led to a Talk n' Text steal.

Rain or Shine reluctantly put Alapag on the line with 22.9 remaining, and the veteran guard hit both, before Lee responded with a quick drive to the basket, 86-81. After Castro split from the line, Chan and Lee would miss consecutive attempts as the buzzer sounded.

Larry Rodriguez opened the game with a jumper off a screen and roll, but things went south for both teams as they shot poorly from the floor early in the first quarter. The Elasto Painters were hamstrung, however, by misses at the rim.

On the other hand, the Talk 'N Texters took an early 13-5 lead, thanks to unselfish play and transition buckets by Jared Dillinger, Ranidel De Ocampo and Jayson Castro. After Castro knocked down a pair of free throws, their lead swelled to 17-6.

Ronnie Matias broke a five-minute drought for Rain or Shine as he connected on a three-pointer with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter. Hustle plays from Jervy Cruz and the Elasto Painters’ bigs led to a 9-2 run to cut the lead to four with a minute and a half remaining, but TNT rebuffed them as Peek scored beneath the basket, while a late three by Castro brought the lead back to nine, 24-15, after the first period.

Rain or Shine scored only six field goals in the first quarter. [Related: Talk 'N Text coach Black ready to play the adjustments game, says 'This is where the fun begins']

In the second period, Rain or Shine struggled to close out TNT’s jump shooters. De Ocampo was fouled on a three-point try and made all his charity attempts as the Texters rattled off 11 unanswered points.

Facing an 18-point hole, the Elasto Painters dove into the paint for scoring opportunities. Rodriguez went on to score six of their next 10, but Dillinger was equally aggressive, dropping five of his own for TNT, 38-25. Rain or Shine’s persistence paid off, as a reverse lay-up by Jireh Ibañes wrapped up a 13-9 stretch, cutting the Texters lead down to 12 points with three and a half minutes remaining.

TNT, which was struggling with turnovers throughout the period, managed to fend off their opponents with timely triples by Castro and Jimmy Alapag to cap off a 10-2 run to bring the lead back up to 18 points.

The Elasto Painers managed to reply in the final minute. A JR Quiñahan lay-up plus freethrows by Jeff Chan, allowed Rain or Shine to settle for a 51-39 deficit at halftime. Jayson Castro led all scorers with 16 points off the bench, plus seven rebounds and three assists. Ranidel De Ocampo matched the Best Player of the Conference nominee's scoring and rebound outputs, Jared Dillinger chimed in with 13 markers, and the starting backcourt of Larry Fonacier and Jimmy Alapag had nine points and four rebounds each, plus a combined 11 assists. Jervy Cruz paced Rain or Shine with 13 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Paul Lee fired in 11 markers. Jeff Chan was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, while Gabe Norwood and Larry Rodriguez provided the same amount of scoring. Talk 'N Text outshot their foes, 38.5 percent versus 34.6 percent from the field, including a 10-of-27 clip from downtown, while Rain or Shine was just 4-of-21 on three-pointers. The Elasto Painters though edged their opponents in the hustle points, 15-to-11 on transition points, 12-3 on second-chance points, and 14-12 in points off turnovers. Game two is set for Friday, at the SM MOA Arena. - Renee Fopalan/AMD, GMA News

The scores:

Talk ‘N Text 87 – Castro 16, R. de Ocampo 16, Dillinger 13, Fonacier 9, Alapag 9, Peek 8, Williams 6, Raymundo 3, Reyes 3, Alvarez 2, Carey 2, Gamalinda 0, Aban 0, Ferriols 0.

Rain or Shine 81 – Cruz 13, Lee 11, Chan 10, Norwood 8, Rodriguez 8, Quinahan 8, Tiu 5, Belga 5, Ibanes 4, Matias 3, Arana 3, Tang 3.

Quarterscores: 24-15, 51-39, 71-58, 87-81.

Tags: talkntexttropangtexters, rainorshineelastopainters, pbaseason, philippinecup