TALK ‘N TEXT rode Jimmy Alapag’s inspired play in the second half to pull off a 100-94 triumph over Alaska at the Araneta Coliseum last night that tied their PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven semifinal series at one game apiece.
Overwhelmed by his Alaska counterpart, LA Tenorio, in the series-opener, Alapag bounced back mightily with a team-high 25 points in the last two quarters after the Tropang Texters had wiped out an early 12-point deficit.
Alapag and Jason Castro kept Tenorio at bay on both ends and denied Alaska the glaring advantage that the Aces exploited in their 104-88 blowout victory in Game 1.
“Our first priority was to make sure that our point guards will not get outplayed by LA (Tenorio), and we did that,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes.
Later, Tony Washam completed a three-point play off Gabe Freeman with seven seconds remaining as B-Meg Derby Ace came from behind to pip San Miguel Beer, 95-94, to also level their own series.
Washam tallied 33 points, including 10 in the final five minutes, while James Yap poured half of his 18 points in the final period as the Llamados bounced back from an 88-101 beating in Game 1.
“Sometimes if you don’t give up, you get rewarded and we got rewarded tonight,” said Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio.
The Llamados rallied from several double digit deficits, the biggest of which was 18 midway in the second quarter, behind Washam and James Yap, whose two free throws gave Derby Ace a 92-91 lead with 1:01 remaining.
The Aces threatened to break the game wide open in the first seven minutes as Joe Devance fired 14 of his 16 points in the first eight minutes to give Alaska a 29-17 lead.
“We wanted to clog the lane inside but the problem was Devance went wild in the first quarter,” said Reyes. “I think the key for us was we didn’t panic after his onslaught. From there, it was a matter of playing hard.”
The Texters recovered with a 10-0 run, capped by back-to-back baskets from Ryan Reyes, to end the first quarter.
Alapag took charge in a telling 15-2 run that propelled the Texters, who were playing three guards in Alapag, Castro and Reyes for most of the second half, to an 84-74 lead heading into the final six minutes.
Alapag also dished out 10 assists as the Texters bucked the absence of starting guard Mark Cardona, who married his girlfriend, Carissa Francisco, yesterday.
The scores:
First Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 100—Alapag 25, Castro 17, De Ocampo 13, Reyes 11, Daniels 11, Williams 10, Carey 7, Dillinger 6, Quinahan 0, Lao 0.
ALASKA 94—Simpson 25, Devance 16, Baguio 13, Thoss 12, Tenorio 9, Fonacier 8, Hugnatan 6, dela Cruz 4, Eman 1, Robinson 0, Cariaso 0.
Quarters: 28-29, 44-52, 69-71, 100-94
Second Game
B-MEG DERBY ACE 95—Washam 33, Yap J. 18, Allado 15, Yap R. 9, Pingris 6, Reavis 5, Timberlake 2, Salvador 2, Artadi 2, Simon 2, Maierhofer 1, Canaleta 0.
SAN MIGUEL 94—Santos 19, Freeman 18, Washington 13, Hontiveros 9, Ildefonso 9, Villanueva 8, Cabagnot 8, Yeo 7, Seigle 3, Pena 0.
Quarters: 18-30, 45-57, 74-79, 95-94