Talk ‘N Text head coach Chot Reyes and his Tropang Texters are making a return trip to the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Ali Peek scored 19 points and had 10 rebounds and Jason Castro added 18 to anchor another excellent performance by the reserves as Talk 'N Text dealt B-Meg Derby Ace a crushing defeat, 89-72, Friday in Game Six of their semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.
The game appeared close in the early going until Castro got into the groove in the second quarter and sparked a 14-0 run that set the tone of the rout.
B-Meg Derby Ace made a few runs along the way but never got into a rhythm to provide the Tropang Texters a good challenge.
The Tropang Texters thus wrapped up the best-of-seven series, 4-2.
“It wasn’t as easy as the final score indicated. They got great spirit, great heart… in the
end it was our depth that pulled us through in this series,” said Reyes, making his second finals
appearance with Talk 'N Text and the 11th overall in his career.
The Tropang Texters, who have not played in the finals of any conference since winning the
Philippine Cup championship in 2008-09, was just two up when Castro warmed up and teamed up with Aaron Aban to complete that decisive run that broke the game wide open, 38-22, with four minutes left in the second quarter.
Castro had eight points and Aban, one of three defenders who alternated on B-Meg Derby Ace star James Yap, scored four of his conference-high 14 points in that spurt.
“To be honest, as great as it feels to be back in the finals knowing how tough it is this season
to get here, the job isn’t done,” said Talk 'N Text superstar guard and team captain Jimmy
Alapag.
Alapag, who managed just two points and five assists in 38 minutes, said the team has not forgotten their painful experience in last season’s Fiesta Conference. Leading 3-2 in the semis of that tournament, the Tropang Texters were eventually ousted by Alaska in the deciding Seventh Game.
“From Day One this team hasn’t forgotten what happened last conference … how a strong team
bowed out,” Alapag said.
James Yap showed the way for Llamados with 16 points but made just 5 of 12 attempts as he was slowed down by Talk 'N Text’s quick and pesky big defenders.
Rico Maierhofer (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Marc Pingris (10 points, 13 rebounds) had
double-double efforts and PJ Simon added 15 points for the defending champions, who had hoped to become the first repeat champion of the tournament in 26 years.
With 22 seconds left and the game already decided, B-Meg Derby Ace head coach Jorge Gallent called for a timeout and when play resumed, the Llamados just held on to the ball until the shotclock expired.
“We didn’t mean anything when I called for time. I just talked to the boys and told then
there’s nothing to frown about. I told them getting to the semis was an accomplishment for a team that started 1-5,” Gallent said during the postgame interview.
Gallent said Talk 'N Text deserved to win. "We started bad and never recovered,” he said.
B-Meg Derby Ace shot a woeful 37 percent (26 of 70) from the field and committed 22 turnovers.
(DBC)
The scores:
Talk ‘N Text 89 - Peek 19, Castro 18, Aban 14, De Ocampo 9, Carey 9, Williams 6, Fonacier 5,
Reyes 4, Dillinger 3, Alapag 2, Alvarez 0.
B-Meg Derby Ace 72 - Yap J. 16, Maierhofer 15, Simon 15, Pingris 10, Yap R. 6, Salvador 4, Canaleta
4, Villanueva 2, Gaco 0, Allado 0.
Quarterscores: 19-18, 42-35, 73-53, 89-72
