Japeth Aguilar heroics rescue Texters; Powerade makes the playoffs

Japeth Aguilar soars for a rebound versus Nonoy Baclao. Photo by Nuki Sabio, PBA

MANILA, Philippines—Benched for most of the night for being a defensive liability, Japeth Aguilar played the finest 3.7 seconds of his career to lift Talk ‘N Text to a huge 80-78 victory over Petron Blaze in the PBA Philippine Cup Tuesday night.

The 6-foot-9 beanpole capped a wild ending at the Smart Araneta Coliseum by knocking all his three points in that span to give the Texters a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.

Aguilar scooped up a Harvey Carey miss from the stripe and completed a three-point play off Arwind Santos with 2.4 seconds to play as the Texters, down to what its coach said was “half-a-team,” completed the scintillating win to rise to 9-3.

The lowest seed the Texters can end up with is No. 2, even if they lose their last assignment to Barangay Ginebra on Sunday.

That means the strongest team they will face in the quarterfinals is the one with the second worst record among the qualifiers.

The Boosters closed out with a 9-5 card and would drop to No. 3 overall in the event of an expected B-Meg win over Shopinas.com Thursday.

Already without Ali Peek, Aaron Aban, Ranidel de Ocampo and Ryan Reyes, the Texters lost Jimmy Alapag in the first period because of a twisted left ankle, and Jason Castro in the third quarter also because of the same injury.

Then they nearly lost Aguilar on a coach’s decision.

“He had crucial lapses on defense,” Reyes said.

In the first game, Powerade nailed a playoff spot with a 99-95 victory over Barako Bull.

The scores:
First Game
POWERADE 99—Lassiter 20, Anthony 17, Casio 15, David 14, Lingganay 13, Kramer 6, Adducul 6, Antonio 4, Allera 2, Crisano 2, Vanlandingham 0.
BARAKO 95—Miller 19, Seigle 17, Salvacion 12, Ababou 11, Pennisi 9, Pena 6, Gatumbato 5, Najorda 5, Allado 4, Arboleda 4, Artadi 3, Aquino 0.
Quarters: 22-26, 45-48, 70-64, 99-95
Second Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 80—Williams 21, Fonacier 17, Carey 15, Castro 8, Weinstein 6, Gamalinda 4, Alvarez 4, Aguilar 3, Lao 2, Raymundo 0, Alapag 0.
PETRON 78—Miranda 15, Cabagnot 14, Yeo 12, Santos 11, Reyes 9, Ildefonso 8, Tugade 5, Guevarra 4, Doruelo 0, Baclao 0.
Quarters: 23-28, 29-40, 57-53, 80-78