Despite both teams assured of postseason entry, it was the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters who notched a big 107-96 win to improve their chances to finish in the top six of elims, over the GlobalPort Batang Pier on Friday, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A fiery start by the Batang Pier was showcased in the opening frame behind Stanely Pringle and Anthony Semerad’s shooting. They led by as much as nine in the first 12 minutes, while TNT struggled with early miscues. Semarad scored all of his nine points during the quarter. On the other hand, Pringle already tallied double-figures offensively.
Balanced scoring aided the Texters to turn it around in the second quarter. They put up a 23-6 run that made it a 38-28 affair with 5:40 left in the first half. Troy Rosario and Jayson Castro also made their presence felt as the team punched in 38 points in the quarter. At the break, the Texters were up by nine.
TNT opened the second half on a 14-5 scoring spree behind Castro and Rosario’s scoring. Minutes later, GlobalPort sliced the lead as they started to catch fire from downtown courtesy of Joseph Yeo and Terrence Romeo. However, another 14-7 surge late in the period gave the Texters an 83-69 lead heading into the final frame. During the stretch, Danny Seigle, Aron Aban and Harvey Carey led TNT’s bench to restore their double-digit cushion.
By the fourth quarter, GlobalPort failed to establish a big run to overhaul TNT’s lead. The Texters reinstalled an 18-point cushion, while the final score served to be the last thing to be settled.
Castro led the Texters with 25 points on 10/20 shooting from the field, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Rosario had a productive 33-minute game, finishing with 19 markers, seven rebounds on 50% shooting at 7/14. For the losing Batang Pier crew, Pringle and Romeo both had 24 points, while Yeo chipped in 14.
Talk ‘N Text improves to a 6-4 record and will round up the elimination games against Ginebra on Sunday, at the Mall of Asia Arena. Despite snapping their win streak, GlobalPort ends their 11-game elims with a 7-4 slate.
The Scores:
Talk ‘N Text (107) – Castro 25, Rosario 19, Seigle 9, Aban 9, Fonacier 9, Carey 9, Williams 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 6, Reyes R.6, Reyes J.5, Miranda 3, Rodriguez 0, Ababou 0.
GlobalPort (96) – Pringle 24, Romeo 24, Yeo 14, Semerad 9, Jensen 7, Mamaril 6, Kramer 6, Maierhofer 4, Washington 2, Uyloan 0, Sumang 0, Paniamogan 0.
Quarterscores: 15-22, 53-44, 83-79, 107-96.
