Texters, Painters draw first blood

Pushed to the limit by a very determined foe, Talk ‘N Text last night showed the resilience that has enabled the Tropang Texters to reign supreme in the PBA Philippine Cup the last two seasons.

“This is what (champion) teams are made of, you have to win games like this,” Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black said after a low-scoring 66-65 victory over underdog Alaska at the start of their Final Four series last night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Rain or Shine also worked extra hard later in the night and subdued San Mig Coffee, 91-83, for a 1-0 lead in their separate best-of-seven series.

Jeff Chan finally snapped out of his shooting slump to pump in 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter as the Elasto Painters practically played with command the entire night to wrest psychological edge in their series.

Paul Lee and Larry Rodriguez each scored 15 and Beau Belga had 13 for the Painters, who are shooting for a second straight title after ruling last season’s Governors’ Cup also against the Mixers.

The Tropang Texters needed to dig deep into their bag of tricks after the Alaska defense shut down their high-profile offensive machine practically all night.

They finally pulled through after holding the Aces scoreless in the last 2:34 to overhaul a four-point deficit with a huge three-pointer from Ryan Reyes with 14.3 seconds remaining turning out to be the marginal basket.

“This is a very difficult win for us,” Black continued. “I am happy because we ground it out. It became a defensive struggle and that’s what normally happens in the playoffs.

“This is our lowest point total for the season,” the Grand Slam-winning mentor pointed out. “We have to go back (to the drawing board) and take a look at what they did to us defensively. They (Aces) did a good job of slowing us down.”

Talk ‘N Text also benefited from the Aces’ seeming lack of experience in games like this one.

With more than enough time for a game-winning play, Tony dela Cruz took an ill-advised jumper that was way off target instead of giving the ball back to JV Casio.

The scores:

First Game

TALK ‘N TEXT 66—Castro 17, De Ocampo 11, Fonacier 8, Carey 8, Alapag 8, Reyes 7, Dillinger 3, Williams 2, Peek 2, Gamalinda 0, Aban 0.

ALASKA 65—Thoss 14, Jazul 11, Abueva 10, Baguio 8, Espinas 7, Casio 6, Hontiveros 5, Baracael 2, Dela Cruz 2, Belasco 0.

Quarters: 17-11, 34-28, 47-50, 66-65

Second Game

RAIN OR SHINE 91—Chan 18, Lee 15, Rodriguez 15, Belga 13, Cruz 7, Arana 7, Norwood 5, Quinahan 5, Matias 4, Tiu 2, Ibanes 0.

SAN MIG COFFEE 83—De Ocampo 17, Pingris 14, Simon 13, Barroca 12, Devance 12, Yap 11, Intal 2, Reavis 2, Ramos 0, Gonzales 0.

Quarters: 24-23, 41-38, 65-57, 91-83