PBA: Petron Blaze's lead just too big for Talk 'N Text's comeback try

A 27-point lead turned out to be just big enough for the Petron Blaze Boosters.

The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters came to life late in the third period, but they ran out of steam in a 77-63 win by Petron, Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in the 2013-14 PBA Philippine Cup.

Petron improved to 2-0 after beating the GlobalPort Batang Pier earlier this week. Talk 'N Text meanwhile settled for a 1-1 card.

The Boosters boasted of a 52-25 lead late in the second period, but a determined TNT squad made runs to get within 10 points after the break. However, they went scoreless in the final 3:40 of the game, as Petron clamped down on their offense before riding this one out.

Arwind Santos was adjudged Best Player of the Game with 15 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks.

The Gilas I duo of Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz combined for 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine dimes, June Mar Fajardo had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, with a pair of rejections, while Doug Kramer also double-doubled with 10 points and 10 caroms.

Talk 'N Text early on doubled up on Petron, 6-3, but the three-point shooting of the Boosters came online, and they closed the period on a 19-6 blast. After back-to-back triples by Marcio Lassiter and Paolo Hubalde, the runners-up of the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup found themselves ahead by 10, 22-12.

In the second period, Jason Deutchman connected on a triple, 27-14, but Kelly Williams and Jayson Castro hit back for the Tropang Texters. A 9-2 Petron Blaze explosion though made it 36-20, forcing TNT to sue for time, 7:29 left in the first half.

The brief respite did nothing to cool down Petron though. A 10-2 run kept growing their lead, making it 46-23, before Castro drew June Mar Fajardo's third foul. The FIBA Asia Mythical Five member made the two charities for a 46-25 score.

Doug Kramer kept Petron afloat, 55-30, but rookie Eliud Poligrates, who starred in the Tropang Texters' opening day win over Meralco, nailed a coast-to-coast layup to make it 55-32 by the intermission.


The Tropang Texters continued to chip away at their deficit after the break. A Jimmy Alapag triple made it 57-37 early in the third, and the difference between the two sides hovered around 20 for most of the period. After a split at the line by Marcio Lassiter made it 66-45 though, TNT engineered a 12-2 run bridging the final two periods, to trail by just 11, 68-57.

Arwind Santos finally ended Petron's silence, and Lassiter added a deuce as well, for a 72-57 tally. Talk 'N Text made it a 10-point game, thanks to a tip-in by Larry Fonacier, 73-63, with 3:40 left, but as their shots continued to go awry, the Boosters saw that they could close this one out for good.

Chris Lutz took Nonoy Baclao's fifth foul, and nailed the two bonus charities to boot. An Arwind Santos mid-range jumper connected, and the difference was 14, 77-63, 2:47 on the clock. As the Tropang Texters missed everything they put up, it was just a matter of time before the final horn sounded.

Jayson Castro tied Santos with 15 points, but he was just 5-of-16 from the field. Nonoy Baclao came through with 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while Jimmy Alapag and Larry Fonacier combined to go 1-of-13 from deep though they still managed nine and eight points, respectively.

Petron's defense held TNT to a 27.2 percent clip from the field, but the Texters did themselves no favors by converting only 15-of-24 charities. The Boosters were slightly better in that regard, with an 18-of-26 clip.  - GMA News


The scores:

Petron Blaze 77 - Santos 15, Lassiter 13, Lutz 12, Fajardo 10, Kramer 10, Hubalde 8, Ross 6, Deutchman 3, Duncil 0

Talk 'N Text 63 - Castro 15, Baclao 10, Alapag 9, Fonacier 8, Anthony 7, Poligrates 4, Williams 3, Aban 2, Ferriols 2, Carey 2, Peek 1, Reyes 0

Quarter scoring: 22-12, 55-32, 68-51, 77-63