All-Filipino Talk ‘N Text holds off B-Meg; Fazekas fuels Petron win
PBA IMAGE/ Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines—An import-less Talk ‘N Text crew trained its defense on B-Meg’s local roster Wednesday night and hammered out a 102-96 upset of the Llamados to zoom to the top of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With no one to match up against Denzel Bowles, Talk ‘N Text practically allowed the B-Meg reinforcement to get away with murder, opting instead to starve the Llamados’ top locals to rise to 3-0 overall.
“Our game plan was to cover James (Yap) and the other locals as much as we can,” Talk ‘N Text coach
Chot Reyes, who was thrown out at the start of the third quarter, said.
Yap, a two-time MVP, was held to five measly points.
Bowles scored 38 points, but only Joe Devance scored heavily with 19 for the Llamados, who took a second straight loss and dropped to 2-2.
Meanwhile, Nick Fazekas came up with a performance that established himself as the yardstick among imports in the tournament.
The 6-foot-11 Petron Blaze reinforcement scored 45 points and ripped off 22 boards in leading the Boosters to a 102-88 triumph over naturalized national Marcus Douthit and Air21 for their second straight victory.
“I had a pretty good night,” Fazekas said after hitting 14-of-21 field goals and 17-of-21 free throws in a 41-minute job that boosted Petron to 2-2 overall.
Talk ‘N Text import Omar Samhan went under the knife for an ACL tear, forcing the Texters to play all-Filipino.
Talk ‘N Text has reportedly come to terms with Chinese pro league veteran Donnell Harvey as a replacement.
The scores:
First Game
PETRON 102—Fazekas 45, Cabagnot 13, Santos 12, Miranda 12, Ildefonso 7, Agustin 6, Yeo 3, Doruelo 2, Tugade 2, Reyes 0.
AIR21 88—Douthit 23, Duncil 18, Jazul 12, Ritualo 12, Isip 10, Omolon 6, Sison 4, Sena 2, Hubalde 1, Escobal 0.
Quarters: 22-27, 48-39, 72-69, 102-88
Second Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 102—Castro 22, De Ocampo 19, Williams 17, Fonacier 11, Dillinger 8, Alapag 8, Carey 6, Peek 6, Gamalinda 3, Reyes 2.
B-MEG 96—Bowles 38, Devance 19, Pingris 8, Barroca 7, Intal 6, Yap J. 5, Urbiztondo 4, Yap R. 4, Simon 3, Reavis 2.
Quarters: 28-20, 61-49, 84-74, 102-96
