PBA: Talk 'N Text romps over Alaska, as Aces' title defense begins with a thud

(Updated 10:22pm) The Talk N' Text Tropang Texters dented the Alaska Aces' title defense bid, snatching an 85-72 win over the reigning PBA Commissioner's Cup champions on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

TNT's import Richard Howell, the youngest among the 10 foreign reinforcements, received Player of the Game honors for nabbing 33 rebounds, despite scoring just 15 points on a paltry 7-of-22 field goal shooting clip and making his only free throw.

Coach Norman Black though doesn't mind his lack of points, stressing that his goal for the team was to dominate games defensively. Black feels that Howell fit their needs well, saying, "He's not a great offensive player but he's a good defensive player and a rebounder, which is what Talk N' Text needs."

A trio of Gilas players highlighted TNT's efforts as Ranidel De Ocampo led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Jayson Castro chipped in 12 points, while Jimmy Alapag delivered 11 markers, four rebounds and six assists.

KG Canaleta, the Texters' newest acquisition, started at small forward but produced just nine points on 2-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc in 20 minutes. Black though was unconcerned, explaining that he decided to match up against the Aces defensively, too. "Today we used Harvey Carey a lot, we wanted to put an energy guy against Calvin Abueva. But KG will play a major role for us this conference," he said.

After spotty interior defense put them in a 10-3 hole, Jimmy Alapag rallied Talk N' Text's transition offense. Finding Ranidel De Ocampo and import Richard Howell as targets, the Texters took over the lead, 17-13, with four minutes to play. However, Alaska got back into the game, as RJ Jazul capped an 8-5 run to tie things up at 22-22 after the first period.

Both teams struggled early in the second, but the Aces earned a 30-28 lead off split charities from Cyrus Baguio. Ranidel De Ocampo though willed the Texters back in the game, draining a three-pointer at the 6:21 mark. From that point on, TNT hustled their way to the lead, getting putbacks to go with triples from Ryan Reyes and KG Canaleta. A Calvin Abueva alley-oop from Jvee Casio kept things interesting, though the Aces fell behind 45-35 at halftime.


The Texters spaced the floor well and gave Alapag and Jayson Castro free reign to create shots, resulting in a 58-47 spread in the third. Things got heated midway though the quarter for Alaska as Abueva, and coaches Luigi Trillo and Topex Robinson received technical fouls while contesting the officials, resulting in a 61-47 lead as TNT converted from the line.

The Aces had just one field goal in the last seven minutes, a trey by Dozier, before falling apart offensively. The Texters replied with twin triples from Canaleta and Alapag to douse the fire, prompting a 12-1 run to end the period, 73-53.

Abueva and Baguio drove to the rack to start the fourth quarter, trimming the gap to 75-62. Despite allowing and-ones from Alapag and Howell, Alaska was solid defensively, but their inability to convert at the other end impacted their chances of coming back into the game, 81-68, on a Thoss basket with 2:25 left.

Rob Dozier, in his second tour of duty as the Aces' import, compiled 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Calvin Abueva tied him with 16 markers and grabbed 14 rebounds. Cyrus Baguio notched 13 points and five assists.

Talk 'N Text went 29-of-84 (34.5 percent) from the field and 18-of-20 (90 percent) from the line. Alaska was just 24-of-73 (32.9 percent) from the floor, missing 19-of-24 from deep, and converting only 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) from the charity stripe. - AMD, GMA News



The scores:

TALK 'N TEXT 85 - De Ocampo 21, Howell 15, Castro 12, Alapag 11, Canaleta 9, Ry. Reyes 8, Fonacier 5, Ro. Reyes 2, Carey 2, Baclao 0

ALASKA 72 - Dozier 16, Abueva 16, Baguio 13, Thoss 8, Jazul 7, Casio 5, Espinas 3, Dela Cruz 2, Hontiveros 2

Quarter scoring: 22-22, 45-35, 73-53, 85-72