Tautuaa, Rosario lift Texters past Taiwanese in MVP Cup

Troy Rosario against two defenders. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario had big performances and Talk ‘N Text rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Chinese Taipei, 99-91, in the 2015 MVP Cup Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tautuaa recorded a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds while Rosario came off the bench and had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Tropang Texters, who came back from 12 points in the third quarter.

The Texters won their first game after suffering a 16-point beating at the hands of Gilas Pilipinas on Saturday.

Rosario and Tautuaa delivered the key baskets with the former National University star tying the game at 76 and sealing it off a pass from Larry Fonacier, 94-87, with 56.1 seconds left.

Fonacier put the exclamation point after burying a wide open 3-pointer for a 97-87 lead with 29.9 ticks remaining.

The Fil-Tongan Tautuaa made three free throws that gave the Texters a 92-87 lead with 1:16 to go.

Liu Cheng scored a game-high 24 points for Chinese Taipei, the same team Gilas faced in the 2015 Jones Cup and will be taking on in the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship in Changsha, China later in the month.