TALK ‘N Text finally played like the powerhouse that it is last night, breaking away from Meralco early for a 105-91 victory in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Tropang Texters, who opened with a loss, dropped 33 points against the still-winless Bolts right in the first quarter on the way to their second win in three outings.
Talk ‘N Text’s celebrated rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario—who went 1-2 in the last Draft—played their worthiest games as pros by combining for 32 points, with the beefy Tautuaa grabbing nine rebounds.
Sophomore swingman Matt Ganuelas-Rosser came off the bench to shoot 19 points with the veteran Jason Castro finishing with 15.
Incidentally, Castro became just the second player from Talk ‘N Text to reach 5,000 career points. Jimmy Alapag was the first one to achieve the feat.
Talk ‘N Text, which barely survived Mahindra, 101-97, more than a week ago, again played without the injured Ranidel de Ocampo, who suffered a herniated disc in a freak accident while lifting weights two weeks ago.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini, the former UAAP MVP with Ateneo, paced the Bolts with 16 points.
“I thought that we could play better than we did in our last two games,” Talk ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico said. “And I think we did that today. Generally, it’s a vast improvement from the last two games we played.”
The scores:
First Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 105—Ganuelas-Rosser 19, Tautuaa 18, Castro 15, Rosario 14, Fonacier 9, Reyes 9, Carey 8, Miranda 4, Seigle 4, Aban 3, Rodriguez 2, Reyes 0.
MERALCO 91—Al-Hussaini 16, David 13, Hodge 13, Newsome 13, Dillinger 11, Amer 8, Nabong 6, Alapag 4, Sedurifa 4, Faundo 2, Guevarra 1, Hugnatan 0.
Quarters: 33-17, 60-38, 88-64, 105-91