THE real Talk ‘N Text team showed up when it mattered as the Tropang Texters drubbed the Kia Sorento, 85-62, on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum for their first winning streak in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Tropang Texters struggled to shake off the expansion team in the first half before breaking the game wide open in the third quarter on the way to their second straight victory and third overall in five outings.
Kelly Williams and Jayson Castro sparked the rout for the Texters, who dealt the Sorento their fourth successive defeat after winning their opening game against Blackwater.
“We struggled and they did a good job of defending us at the start, but we tried to make adjustments,” Texters coach Jong Uichico said.
The Sorento, who came in with an average losing margin of 22 points in their three losses, surprisingly stayed within striking distance of the powerhouse Texters in the first half, trailing by just four at the intermission behind the solid play of Rudy Lingganay and Karl Dehesa.
But it was a tale of two halves as the Texters clicked on both ends of the floor after the break, unleashing a mighty run in the third quarter where they outscored the Sorento, 20-9, to set the tone for the blowout.
Williams almost singlehandedly matched the Sorento’s third-quarter output, scoring eight of his 13 points there.
Scoreless in the first half, Castro regained his groove with 11 markers in the last two quarters for the Texters.
The game also saw the return of Jimmy Alapag, who saw action for the first time since leading Gilas Pilipinas in the Fiba World Cup and Asian Games. The Texters star playmaker even scored his only two points on the putback that gave the Texters their biggest lead at 81-55.
The scores:
Talk 'N Text 85 – Williams 13, Fonacir 12, Castro 11, Espiritu 10, Washington 8, Seigle 8, Reyes 6, Rosser 6, Alas 5, Alapag 2, De Ocampo 2, Aban 2, Carey 0, Reyes 0
KIA 62 – Dehesa 14, Lingganay 11, Cervantes 8, Webb 7, Buensuceso 6, Revilla 4, Pascual 4, Jaime 3, Raymundo 3, Thiele 2, Alonzo 0, Saldua 0, Padilla 0, Alvarez 0
Quarterscores: 17-14; 39-35; 59-44; 85-62
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