PBA: Talk 'N Text trumps Petron Blaze, takes game one in best-of-three series

The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters won the game that mattered more. After losing to the Petron Blaze Boosters in the last match of the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup elimination round, the Tropang Texters scored a 100-93 victory, to place themselves one win away from making it to the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals, Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. After a shaky showing in the eliminations, Talk ‘N Text is now exactly where they want to be.  Usually at the top of the standings, Talk ‘N Text was ranked sixth after 14 elimination games, but none of that matters now. Talk ‘N Text slowly pulled away at the start of the fourth quarter. Two free throws from Ali Peek gave the Tropang Texters an 89-76 lead with a little over six minutes left in the game. After Petron cut the TNT lead down to 10, Larry Fonacier banked in a triple from way downtown at the 4:24 mark of the fourth to re-establish their 13-point buffer at 92-79. Triples from Marcio Lassiter and Ronald Tubid gave the Boosters a fighting chance, but an offensive foul was called June Mar Fajardo as he made a basket. The Petron bench was also called for a technical foul after they protested the call. Even after all that, Petron still managed to make it a ballgame down the stretch. Lassiter connected with a floater with 51 seconds left to go in the game, which had the effect of slicing the TNT lead down to five at 95-90. Jerome Jordan, the Texters import, was then fouled and proceeded to miss both of his free throws, but Ranidel De Ocampo stole the ball off of Henry Sims. Reyes then stepped in and nailed a dagger trey for a 98-90 count. Lassiter connected with a triple to cut the lead down to five anew, but TNT took care of two free throws, arming them with a 100-93 lead with 19 seconds left. Lassiter tried another triple but it bounced harmlessly off the rim to seal the victory for the reigning Philippine Cup titlists. Ryan Reyes was named as the Best Player of the Game with 16 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals. He shot 4-of-6 from downtown,  including the dagger down the stretch. “We just got to take it one game at a time,” Reyes said after the game. “We have to keep it up.” The Tropang Texters drew first blood in the game as two free throws from Ranidel de Ocampo were followed by a fast break lay-up from Jared Dillinger for a 4-0 lead. However, Petron did not take long to score their first points as Denok Miranda converted a free throw, followed by a one-hander from Henry Sims. A triple by Ronald Tubid at the 8:44 mark of the first quarter gave the Boosters their first taste of the lead at 8-6. Ryan Reyes then tied the ball game with a three-ball a few minutes later, which was followed by a Jerome Jordan two-handed dunk for a 13-11 TNT lead. Jayson Castro connected with a triple for a 21-17 TNT advantage, but Sims scored just before the first quarter ended to inch his team closer at 21-19. Petron quickly retook the lead to start the second quarter. Jay Washington tied the game with two free throws and gave Petron the go-ahead basket with a triple that appeared to be a long two via the replay. The Tropang Texters then went on a counter-run to take the lead. Washington’s three was also downgraded to a long two for a 27-23 TNT lead at the halfway point of the second quarter. The Talk ‘N Text offense was carried largely by De Ocampo, who scored 18 points in the first half alone. However, a Marcio Lassiter basket off a post-up play versus point guard Jimmy Alapag tied the game at 33-all with 3:47 left in the first half of play. A short jumper from Santos gave the Boosters a two-point lead, but De Ocampo scored again down low for a 37-all score. Jordan then connected on an undergoal stab, followed by another basket from De Ocampo to give the Tropang Texters a 41-39 advantage, before Sims scored a lay-up to cut it back down to two. A pair of free throws from Alex Cabagnot then tied the ball game at 41-all, heading into the halftime break. To control De Ocampo’s scoring, Petron head coach Olsen Racela adjusted by assigning their import to cover the high-scoring power forward.  Although De Ocampo still scored two quick baskets to start the third quarter, the Boosters managed to take the lead with a Sims basket. However, Jordan countered with a big dunk at the 8:20 mark of the third to tie the game at 50. After falling behind by five points, the Tropang Texters sparked a 7-0 run, capped by a Larry Fonacier lay-up at the 3:40 mark for a 62-60 lead. Castro and Lutz then exchanged lay-ups late in the third quarter for a 72-69 count in favor of TNT going into the fourth quarter. It was Philippine Cup Finals MVP Ranidel De Ocampo who led TNT in scoring, as the versatile forward scored 22 markers on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. Larry Fonacier added 14 markers, while Jayson Castro and Ali Peek scored 11 apiece. Talk 'N Text import Jerome Jordan scored just 11 points as well, but more critical was the fact that he collared a mere five boards as well. Jordan's counterpart on Petron, Henry Sims, compiled 22 points and 21 rebounds. Marcio Lassiter added 17 markers, hitting 6-of-14 from the field, while 2012 overall number one pick June Mar Fajardo finished with 13 points and eight boards. Petron dominated the battle of the boards as they beat Talk ‘N Text on the glass, 52-39. However, the Tropang Texters connected on three more triples (9-6) and four more free throws (23-19). - RAF, GMA News