Rookies Troy Rosario and Moala Tautuaa carried the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in a strong fight back as the team defeated Chinese Taipei, 99-91 Saturday in the 2015 MVP Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Tautuaa scored 20 points and hauled down 13 rebounds while Rosario added 19 points and 9 boards as the Tropang Texters came back from a double-digit deficit to score a win.
Both bigs shot above 67 percent from the floor, fueling a huge fourth quarter surge where the Tropang Texters outscored their opponents, 34-18.
Talk ‘N Text improved to 1-1 while Chinese Taipei dropped to 0-2 in the tournament.
Talk ‘N Text jumped to a 23-14 lead as they spaced the floor well to create openings for penetration. Danny Seigle poured 11 points in the opening quarter, scoring inside the paint off entry passes.
The Tropang Texters held a three-point lead after the first quarter although the visitors went on a zone defense in the next period to make it difficult for the Tropang Texters.
Taipei then generated offense from Talk ‘N Text turnovers as they snatched a 45-42 lead behind a slam and triple by Liu Cheng. Taipei scored 9 points off turnovers in the first half alone.
In the third, Liu steered Taipei in transition, attacking Talk ‘N Text repeatedly to erect a 57-48 lead.
Tautuaa kept the Tropang Texters in the game after scoring 9 of their next 11 points, cutting the deficit down to 59-64.
Seven unanswered points from the East Asian side made it 71-59, although three baskets by Rosario later on and an Oping Sumalinog triple allowed the Tropang Texters to knot the count at 78-all.
A Rosario slam later on followed by a fastbreak layup capped a 7-2 TNT run which made it 85-82 for the PBA team.
A jumper and free throws by Tautuaa gave Talk ‘N Text more separation at 92-87, under the final 1:17.
A turnover later on led to a Rosario fastbreak layup before Larry Fonacier drained the dagger trey that made it 97-87.
The Tropang Texters posted a 52-28 lead in rebounding, and also punished Taipei in the paint, scoring 20 more points in the shaded lane.
Liu Cheng led Taipei with 24 points and 5 assists.
The Scores:
Talk ‘N Text (99) – Tautuaa 20, Rosario 19, Seigle 17, Miranda 11, Fonacier 9, Rodriguez 8, Sumalinog 5, J. Reyes 4, R. Reyes 3, Aban 3, Espiritu 0, Carey 0.
Chinese Taipei (91) – Liu 24, Tien 19, Tsai 16, Davis III 11, Chen SN 6, Lu 5, Hung 3, Chen S. 4, Chen 3.
Quarterscores: 28-25, 44-47, 65-73, 99-91.
