Texters show offensive might vs listless Express

Talk ‘N Text displayed its full offensive might against Air21 on Friday night as the Tropang Texters coasted to a 126-100 rout of the Express in a lopsided PBA Fiesta Cup game at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Talk ‘N Text’s final output is a new season-high, breaking the 122 marks set by Alaska and Ginebra on different occasions in the Philippine Cup. The Tropang Texters also posted a new record for most number of points through three quarters at 100 this season. The victory too, was the TNT’s biggest winning margin the past three conferences and the largest gap by the team this conference. The Texters’ vaunted offense was in full display right from the opening tip, scoring 35 points in the first quarter to lead the Express by 11, before settling for a big 20-point halftime bulge as the trio of Kelly Williams, Shawn Daniels and Ryan Reyes initiated the team’s early breakaway. Williams scored 12 of his team-high 26 points during that stretch while Daniels had 11 of his 20 and Reyes 11 of his 17 for that comfortable 64-44 Talk ‘N Text lead at the turn. Williams also went 9-of-12 from the field in 22 minutes, while Reyes accounted for six of his team’s 34 assists. Daniels also added 18 rebounds as the Tropang Texters claimed their ninth straight win tying defending champion San Miguel on top of the standings with similar 10-2 marks. “We knew Air21 will gonna come out strong, so I told them that we should start well," said coach Chot Reyes. “What can I say? We want to attack early and take good shots, and that exactly what happened. The key was our effort. Overall, our guys came out and outhustled the other team." Fresh from a close 99-98 victory over Barako Coffee in a game where it blew a 31-point lead, Air21 dropped back at the bottom of the standings as its suffered its 11th loss in 13 matches. The Tropang Texters took control of the game with two big runs in the opening half. After a 10-10 score, Talk ‘N Text unloaded a 17-4 run to take a 27-14 lead. Then, after leading 43-34, the the Tropang Texters let loose a 14-1 blast for 57-35 edge advantage with 4:25 left in the second period. The lead ballooned to its biggest at 114-83 on a Mark Yee basket with 6:34 remaining in the one-sided match. – JVP, GMANews.TV