Talk ’N Text, playing better as a team, ripped San Miguel to shreds Sunday night, posting a 97-83 decision to show who the real powerhouse is this early in the eliminations of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Dropping one crippling bomb after another, the Texters took control early and never let up, playing with sustained brilliance all night long to deal the Beermen a thorough beating and grab the early lead in the season-opening tournament.
Their second straight win came in the same lopsided manner as the first, as five players, led by Jimmy Alapag’s 27 points and Harvey Carey’s dominating double-double, scored in twin digits for coach Chot Reyes.
The victory also exposed a chink in the San Miguel armor, as the Beermen were never really in the contest, which they played after just a day’s rest, to be at 1-1.
“We wanted to capitalize on San Miguel having just a day’s rest,” Reyes told scribes later. “We wanted to catch them not at their best by putting a deep focus on defense.
“We held them to 83 points and that pleases me the most.” Carey scattered 20 points and cleared 14 boards and Ali Peek had the same number of rebounds that went with 10 markers.
Alapag, who scored just three points in the Texters’ victory over defending champion Derby Ace last Wednesday, hit six triples and had six assists, with his biggest trey coming at the 9:50 mark of the third period which gave the Texters a 53-36 advantage.
The Texters flaunted complete command from there and allowed the Beermen to come closest at 70-76 before a telling 11-0 blitzkrieg totally snuffed the fight out of San Miguel entering the final six minutes of the contest.
Jay Washington paced San Miguel with 27 points and 10 rebounds and Dondon Hontiveros had 13 with Danny Seigle contributing 10 coming off the bench.
But after them interim coach Gee Abanilla couldn’t get the others to contribute with Arwind Santos held to a paltry nine and starting point guard Alex Cabagnot good for only seven points in 29 minutes.
And to think that Talk ’N Text played the game with the 6-foot-4 Peek at center certainly instills fears in the hearts of the others in the field as the squad awaits the return of Ranidel de Ocampo from injury and Japeth Aguilar from his duties with the Philippine Team.
Aguilar, the controversial 6-foot-10 former Western Kentucky University reserve, will wind up his tour of RP Team duty after the Asian Games in November and will join the Texters late in the first round of the eliminations.
De Ocampo, on the other hand, came off surgery to remove bone spurs from both feet.
Barako Bull, meanwhile, held newcomer Meralco to just nine fourth quarter points and rallied to post a 74-68 win in the first game.
Sunday Salvacion, acquired from Barangay Ginebra a few weeks before season’s start, actually matched the entire Meralco crew’s fourth quarter output, and Reed Juntilla chipped in eight of his 11 in the same stretch to power the Energy Boosters to their first win in two games.
“We learned our lessons the last time against Alaska (which ripped them by 24 points on Wednesday),” coach Junnel Baculi told reporters. “I told my players to just be consistent on defense and our offense will follow.
“We are a team that cannot outshoot any of these (other) teams,” he continued. “But we can out-defend them. Hopefully, this is a confidence-builder for my less talented team.” Mac Cardona, the hero of Meralco’s 73-72 upending of the Gin Kings on opening day, had 19 points with center Beau Belga shooting 13 in just 20 minutes.
Dropping one crippling bomb after another, the Texters took control early and never let up, playing with sustained brilliance all night long to deal the Beermen a thorough beating and grab the early lead in the season-opening tournament.
Their second straight win came in the same lopsided manner as the first, as five players, led by Jimmy Alapag’s 27 points and Harvey Carey’s dominating double-double, scored in twin digits for coach Chot Reyes.
The victory also exposed a chink in the San Miguel armor, as the Beermen were never really in the contest, which they played after just a day’s rest, to be at 1-1.
“We wanted to capitalize on San Miguel having just a day’s rest,” Reyes told scribes later. “We wanted to catch them not at their best by putting a deep focus on defense.
“We held them to 83 points and that pleases me the most.” Carey scattered 20 points and cleared 14 boards and Ali Peek had the same number of rebounds that went with 10 markers.
Alapag, who scored just three points in the Texters’ victory over defending champion Derby Ace last Wednesday, hit six triples and had six assists, with his biggest trey coming at the 9:50 mark of the third period which gave the Texters a 53-36 advantage.
The Texters flaunted complete command from there and allowed the Beermen to come closest at 70-76 before a telling 11-0 blitzkrieg totally snuffed the fight out of San Miguel entering the final six minutes of the contest.
Jay Washington paced San Miguel with 27 points and 10 rebounds and Dondon Hontiveros had 13 with Danny Seigle contributing 10 coming off the bench.
But after them interim coach Gee Abanilla couldn’t get the others to contribute with Arwind Santos held to a paltry nine and starting point guard Alex Cabagnot good for only seven points in 29 minutes.
And to think that Talk ’N Text played the game with the 6-foot-4 Peek at center certainly instills fears in the hearts of the others in the field as the squad awaits the return of Ranidel de Ocampo from injury and Japeth Aguilar from his duties with the Philippine Team.
Aguilar, the controversial 6-foot-10 former Western Kentucky University reserve, will wind up his tour of RP Team duty after the Asian Games in November and will join the Texters late in the first round of the eliminations.
De Ocampo, on the other hand, came off surgery to remove bone spurs from both feet.
Barako Bull, meanwhile, held newcomer Meralco to just nine fourth quarter points and rallied to post a 74-68 win in the first game.
Sunday Salvacion, acquired from Barangay Ginebra a few weeks before season’s start, actually matched the entire Meralco crew’s fourth quarter output, and Reed Juntilla chipped in eight of his 11 in the same stretch to power the Energy Boosters to their first win in two games.
“We learned our lessons the last time against Alaska (which ripped them by 24 points on Wednesday),” coach Junnel Baculi told reporters. “I told my players to just be consistent on defense and our offense will follow.
“We are a team that cannot outshoot any of these (other) teams,” he continued. “But we can out-defend them. Hopefully, this is a confidence-builder for my less talented team.” Mac Cardona, the hero of Meralco’s 73-72 upending of the Gin Kings on opening day, had 19 points with center Beau Belga shooting 13 in just 20 minutes.
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