PBA: Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters take game three, blow out Barangay Ginebra

 

(Updated 10:37pm)  The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters locked down Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the third quarter to key a 98-80 victory in game three in the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals, Wednesday, at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Talk 'N Text built on an 85-79 game two victory on April 28 and are now a win away from advancing from in the best-of-five series. Game four, to be played at Araneta as well, happens on Friday. The Texters outscored Ginebra 28-11 in the third period. Ginebra shot a miserable 3-of-21 (11.1 percent), with all the makes coming from Macklin. In comparison, TNT's new import Tony Mitchell notched 11 points in the third on 4-of-7 shooting as the Texters shot 10-of-21 (47.6 percent) in the pivotal frame. "This was a very interesting situation for us tonight and I really didn't know what to expect going into the game. We brought in Tony Mitchell last Wednesday and we weren't really sure how he'd fit. We wanted to see if he was as explosive as he was in the US," said TNT head coach Norman Black. Black however said a couple days in practice convinced him that the American combo-forward would work for their team. "It's his first game on Philippine soil so he's not sure how the PBA game is played. But going forward, he's only going to get better," he added. Black made special mention of his local players who have been his bedrock in a conference that has seen four different imports suit up for the Texters, a high among all the teams. Despite needing to adjust to commitments to the Gilas national team and dealing with changes in the rotation due to injured players, Black credited his squad for powering through. "This team continues to battle, they continue to fight, they continue to believe they can win games," he finished. Mitchell, the 2013 NBA D-League Rookie of the Year, led all scorers with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Larry Fonacier poured in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting to lead all locals as well. Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo logged 15 points each, with Castro adding four assists and De Ocampo six rebounds. Tony Mitchell immediately made his presence felt, scoring the game's first basket in the lane. However, Ginebra proved better from the get-go, as Kerby Raymundo's midrange jumpers powered them to a 15-8 lead. While Ginebra pounded away through Vernon Macklin in the paint, Talk 'N Text adjusted against Ginebra's defense that seemed a step slow at times, pouring a 13-6 run, capped by a Larry Fonacier fast break layup, to knot the game at 22-all. Ginebra would not score in the last four and a half minutes, while TNT got a fall-away drive from Mitchell to put them up 23-21 after the first period. Raymundo scored on a put-back early in the second quarter, but things got testy when Rabeh Al-Husseini hit Chris Ellis while angling for a rebound. LA Tenorio received a technical foul for a second motion as he came to Ellis' aid, and Al-Husseini was slapped with a flagrant foul and had to sit out for three minutes. Ryan Reyes missed TNT's technical free throw, and Ellis split from the line. Moments later, John Ferriols also got T'd up for a second motion, leading to a JJ Helterbrand free throw to put Ginebra up, 25-23. Errant halfcourt execution allowed Ginebra to fall behind while Talk 'N Text attacked the basket, lagging 32-31, until a Tenorio hit a triple from the right wing to put them up by two. Jayson Castro had a pair of quick lay-ups to keep TNT close, but Ginebra gained separation in the final three minutes when JJ Helterbrand scored or assisted on their last 10 points, including a reverse lay-up with 1.2 seconds remaining, to give Ginebra a 48-43 lead at halftime. Talk 'N Text shot 18-of-40 through two quarters (45 percent), while Ginebra was 16-of-39 (41 percent). Save for a couple of put-backs by Macklin, Talk n' Text's defense closed ranks and dictated the pace of the third quarter. The Texters opened the period with a 10-2 run as their drives eroded Ginebra's interior defense, and Mitchell scored 11 points off slashing moves to push his team forward, 63-59, with under three minutes to play. Soon, the Texters were doing lay-up lines to close the quarter, as they cruised to the rim for eight unanswered points, capped by a Pamboy Raymundo drive with 7.9 ticks left, for a 71-59 lead entering the final period. Rob Labagala and Raymundo muffed a pair of and-one chances early in the fourth quarter as Ginebra tried to mount a comeback. The momentum was set heavily against them, as Larry Fonacier was waxing hot from outside, scoring seven among the Texters' first 10 points, 81-63. Fonacier sat after picking up his fifth personal just two and a half minutes into the period. Talk 'N Text yielded no ground, as Raymundo drained a triple and Ranidel De Ocampo added a transition slam to lead by as much as 21 points, 86-65. Talk 'N Text finished with a 35-of-78 mark from the field (44.9 percent) against Ginebra's 27-of-87 (31 percent). They connected on 6-of-17 attempts from long range (35.3 percent) while Ginebra was 4-of-27 (14.8 percent). TNT led in fast break points (21-9) while Ginebra won the turnover points battle (21-10) after forcing the Texters into 18 miscues against 12 of their own. Kerby Raymundo and Vernon Macklin top-scored for Ginebra with 17 points, and the latter added 16 rebounds. LA Tenorio tallied 10 points and five assists, shooting a rough 3-of-13 clip for tonight. - RAF, GMA News

The scores:

 

TALK N' TEXT 98 - Mitchell 29, Fonacier 20, Castro 15, De Ocampo 15, Peek 6, Raymundo 5, Reyes 4, Ferriols 3, Aban 1, Gamalinda 0, Al-Hussaini 0, Alvarez 0, Carey 0.

 

GINEBRA 80 - Macklin 17, Raymundo 17, Tenorio 10, Ellis 9, Helterbrand 9, Baracael 6, Labagala 4, Wilson 4, Urbiztondo 2, Maierhofer 2, Taha 0, Espiritu 0, Mamaril 0.

 

Quarters: 23-21, 43-48, 71-59, 98-80