PBA: Texters stay unbeaten with win over Beermen

(Updated 10:29pm) The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters bested the San Miguel Beermen, 107-99, and claimed the early lead in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Friday, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Richard Howell towed TNT to victory with 38 points, 20 rebounds, four assists and five steals. Jimmy Alapag added 18 points and seven assists, and went 4-of-6 on three-pointers. Ranidel De Ocampo and Jayson Castro each had four rebounds plus 16 and 10 points, respectively.

During a heated third quarter, coach Norman Black earned his first ejection in 28 years after receiving consecutive technical fouls while arguing with the referees. "It's pretty lonely there in the locker room, all there by yourself," he chuckled after the game. "I'm not even sure I deserved it."

The Texters pulled away in the fourth, as Alapag righted the ship after absorbing a 17-5 Beermen rally that cut the lead to four with under two minutes to play. Black, who watched the drama unfold from a television in the locker room, praised assistant coach Sandy Arrespacochaga and his players for coming through in the clutch.

"[Arrespacochaga] has been with me for 11 years. He knows he has to make some decisions in those situations, but I think he did a good job," he said. "Richard Howell really delivered the goods coming down the stretch, and Jimmy hit some shots to help us win."

Talk N' Text (3-0) currently leads the league and pushed the Beermen (2-1) to second place, tying Air21.

The Texters controlled the first quarter on both ends, scoring off turnovers and converting from the arc. The Beermen got going late, though, as Paolo Hubalde and June Mar Fajardo led an 8-0 run in the last two minutes to trail 26-19 after the period.

San Miguel hung around in the second quarter by crashing the offensive glass. New import Kevin Jones' put-backs kept the Beermen alive against Talk N' Text's shooters, but it didn't last long. Richard Howell and Ryan Reyes reeled off layup after layup, and a KG Canaleta trey capped an 11-2 run that nearly put the lead at 20 points, 51-32, with 1:46 left. But the Beermen were able to salvage the half somehow, as Hubalde and Jones each hit from deep before the halftime mark, 51-38.


The game took a physical turn in the third quarter, when both teams were assessed for technical fouls for contact and showing resentment to the officiating. The two squads hit the foul limit early, and the game dragged on from the line.

The Texters went up by as much as 15 points, 66-49, before San Miguel slowly stole the momentum in the latter half of the quarter. The Beermen went on a 19-8 run, during which TNT coach Norman Black received two technical fouls and was ejected from the court. Jimmy Alapag briefly cooled them off with a triple, 77-68, giving his team some cushion with five seconds left in the third.

The fourth quarter was a series of runs, as San Miguel bullied their way through an 8-2 swing to start the frame, 79-76, before slicing the lead to three on a Jones midrange jumper. Howell answered back, scoring or assisting 11 of 13 unanswered points for the Texters, 92-76.

Marcio Lassiter started San Miguel's comeback bid, draining two triples to complement Jones' outside stroke in a 17-5 run. Jones salvaged Arwind Santos' three-point miss to cut the lead to four. But as if on cue, Alapag struck again from beyond the arc to breach the century mark, 100-93, with a minute and a half left.

San Miguel called a timeout and found Lutz for a corner triple, but Lutz took it back when he fouled Alapag responding from deep. The Texters' point guard made 2-of-3, 102-96, with 55 seconds left. The Beermen would not get a decent chance to reply, as TNT deflected a pass for Jayson Castro to finish on the break. Chris Ross missed a layup against Howell, and San Miguel was forced to foul Alapag anew. Alapag made both with 27 seconds left to put the game out of reach.

Talk 'N Text converted 33-of-77 (42.9 percent) from the field, including 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) from deep. They also made 32-of-40 (80 percent) from the free throw line led by Howell's 12-of-17 mark.

The Beermen shot 36-of-85 (42.4 percent) from the floor, including 8-of-25 (32 percent) on three-pointers. They also attempted less free throws, shooting 19-of-27 (70.4 percent).

The Texters led 31-12 on turnover points, working off a 14-19 turnover advantage. The Beermen though led in rebounds (52-46) and assists (21-14).

New import Kevin Jones, who replaced Josh Boone after two games, put up 35 points and 13 rebounds in his PBA debut. Paolo Hubalde and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 14 and 12 points, respectively, and combined for seven rebounds and five assits. June Mar Fajardo, returning from an ankle injury to play his first game of the conference, had seven points, nine rebounds and six turnovers. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

TALK N' TEXT 107 - Howell 38, Alapag 18, De Ocampo 16, Castro 10, Fonacier 8, Canaleta 6, Reyes Ry. 5, Aban 3, Carey 2, Williams 1, Reyes Ro. 0, Baclao 0.

SAN MIGUEL 99 - Jones 35, Hubalde 14, Lassiter 12, Lutz 9, Santos 9, Fajardo 7, Mercado 5, Kramer 4, Tubid 2, Ross 2, Maierhofer 0, Duncil 0.

Quarter scoring: 26-19, 51-38, 77-68, 107-99