TALK ‘N TEXT’S Kelly Williams (left) pulls at the jersey of Ginebra’s Jay-R Reyes as Larry Fonacier tries to strip the Gin King of the ball in last night’s game at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines — Paul Harris did almost everything in the stretch for Talk ‘N Text and keyed a 96-92 victory over Barangay Ginebra at Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night that gave the Tropang Texters top seeding in the first round of the playoffs.
The smallest import in the field, Harris again proved his worth by bailing the Texters out for the second straight night with a 16-point performance in the fourth that relegated the Gin Kings to the bottom half of qualifiers.
Talk ‘N Text closed out its elimination-round stint with a 7-2 record and will be No. 1 in the playoffs for the second straight conference, although coach Norman Black was quick to point out later that “it’s not really the goal.”
“The goal remains to be to win the championship,” Black said after earning a twice-to-beat advantage over No. 8 Barako Bull in the quarterfinals starting Tuesday.
Talk ‘N Text trailed by as many as 14 in the third period and opened up the fourth behind by 12 before Harris—whether by design or otherwise—inflicted a cut below the right eye on Ginebra’s 7-foot center Greg Slaughter with a left elbow that eventually made things a bit easier for the Texters.
Slaughter ended up bloodied after trying to stop Harris from taking a three-point attempt and was whistled for a foul.
Harris made all three free throws and fanned the Talk ‘N Text fightback. It was Harris’ seven straight points that had Talk ‘N Text wriggling out of an 85-83 game to take a 92-85 lead, time down to 22.7 seconds.
“I really felt that I was in a roller coaster today,” Black said. “Both teams made runs and lost control, especially in the first half. “Paul Harris once again came up big for us,” Black said of his 6-foot-3 import.
As things stand after last night’s results, including Alaska’s 90-87 nipping of Barako Bull earlier, Rain or Shine and San Mig Coffee also got free rides into the Top Four.
The Aces, who got 20 points from JV Casio, also finished with a 5-4 record like Ginebra, idle Air21 and San Miguel Beer but could book a twice-to-beat bonus depending on the result of today’s lone match.
A win by San Mig Coffee would put the defending champion Mixers at No. 2 and would relegate the Aces to No. 7, while a loss would give Rain or Shine second ranking and the right to play Air21.
Alaska will make it as the No. 3 seed in the event of a Rain or Shine win and a clash with Ginebra, leaving San Mig Coffee and San Miguel Beer into a quarterfinal pairing where the Mixers would need to win just once.
The scores:
First Game
ALASKA 90—Casio 20, Walker 17, Thoss 13, Abueva 10, Espinas 9, Manuel 7, Jazul 5, Baguio 4, Hontiveros 3, Belasco 2.
BARAKO 87—Durham 17, Miller 15, Pennisi 14, Fortuna 13, Jensen 8, Miranda 8, Najorda 4, Marcelo 4, Custodio 4, Thiele 0, Lastimosa 0, Wilson 0, Isip 0.
Quarters: 18-22, 38-49, 64-64, 90-87
Second Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 96—Harris 31, De Ocampo 18, Castro 18, Fonacier 12, Canaleta 8, Alapag 5, Williams 2, Baclao 2, Reyes Ryan 0, Reyes Rob 0, Carey 0.
GINEBRA 92—Aguilar 18, Mason 15, Slaughter 15, Baracael 14, Tanorio 14, Ababou 7, Helterbrand 3, Knuttel 2, Reyes 2, Monfort 2, Ellis 0, Caguioa 0. Quarters: 19-20, 40-46, 55-67, 96-92