PBA: Talk 'N Text gets big win over GlobalPort as Alapag hits milestones, Seigle debuts

(Updated 9:53pm) The veteran-laden Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters put a couple of young guns in their place.

Boasting of more firepower than their rookie-laden opponents, the three-time defending Philippine Cup champs thumped the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 106-93, Tuesday at the MOA Arena, to win back-to-back games in the current conference, though this match may be remembered more for several milestones than the actual proceedings.

It was the 500th career game of veteran point guard Jimmy Alapag, who tallied his 3000th assist along the way.  Fittingly, he was also named Player of the Game after pacing his team with 17 points and six assists. New addition Danny Seigle, replacing Ali Peek who moved down to the reserve list, had a prolific debut of 13 points and eight rebounds, Larry Fonacier offered 18 markers, while Jayson Castro (12 points, 10 rebounds), Harvey Carey (10 points, 14 rebounds) and Nonoy Baclao (10 points, 11 rebounds) all managed double-doubles.

Castro also led all players with six assists.

The win also gave Talk 'N Text a 3-1 record, tying them with the idle Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. GlobalPort on the other hand lost a second straight game to even their card at 2-2.

"We played well enough to win the basketball game. At this point that's all that really matters," said coach Norman Black of his team's slip-up towards the end of the fourth, when they allowed GlobalPort to recover somewhat from a deficit that reached as high as 25 points.

That said, the recent activations of Ranidel De Ocampo, coming off an ankle injury, and free agent Danny Seigle have given Black cause for optimism.

"It allows us to have a more rounded offensive game and post up a lot more," he said, ruing that his team had been predictably perimeter-oriented in their previous outings. Hopefully, he added, the Texters could build off this success tonight.

"I don't think we've come anywhere near reaching our stride. We're still in the teaching mode of practice. We're way off right now as far as we're concerned, but we're playing well enough to win," added Black.

Talk N' Text led clear out of the gates behind Larry Fonacier's outside stroke and Harvey Carey filling in the cutting lanes. On the other hand, GlobalPort scrapped for second-chance points to stay in contention, but still found themselves down by double-digits early after a Jimmy Alapag triple, 20-10.

Rookie Nico Salva came off the bench and scored six of Batang Pier's last 10 points in the first quarter. However, they were unable to stop fluid play from TNT's second unit, as new acquisitions Danny Seigle and Eliud Poligrates dropped 10 of their side's last 14 points to claim a 34-20 lead after the first period.

Poligrates connected from the arc early in the second quarter to punctuate a 7-0 run for TNT, 41-20. GlobalPort scored soon enough though, as three straight buckets by Jay Washington rekindled their offense. Suddenly the Batang Pier were finding good looks in the lane in the halfcourt set, while applying pressure off TNT misses. Despite the best efforts of Alapag and Kelly Williams on the other end, the Texters saw their lead dwindle to 11 points after an uptempo exchange, 55-44, following a transition make by Sol Mercado with two and a half minutes to play.

However, TNT regained control down the stretch, punctuated by a Seigle and-one, to lead 64-51 at halftime.

The Texters began the second half by pushing the ball off defensive stops, resulting in a 9-0 blast capped by a Sean Anthony twinner, 74-51. Terrence Romeo prevented GlobalPort from slipping further by facilitating a 12-4 run, featuring twin triples by himself and JP Belencion, 78-63, at the quarter's halfway mark.

The Batang Pier banged their way into the penalty situation but couldn't capitalize on the freebies, going 2-of-11 during the latter half of the period. Meanwhile, Fonacier made a couple of huge plays to cap off a 13-4 Texters rally, 91-67, heading into the final frame.

Save for strong drives by Castro early in the frame, TNT seemed to coast for most of the fourth quarter and allowed BatangPier to come near single-digit territory, 101-88, off a Terrence Romeo floater with three minutes to play. The Texters did just enough though, replying with a Nonoy Baclao baseline jumper, and nullifying a Washington triple on the other end with a trey off Ranidel De Ocampo, 106-91, to keep GlobalPort in check with a minute left.

TNT shot 35-of-87 (40.2 percent) from the field, while GlobalPort went 33-of-85 (38.8 percent). The Texters also performed well from the charity stripe with a 30-of-36 (83.3 percent) clip against GlobalPort's 22-of-38 (57.9 percent) mark.

The Texters also led in rebounds (66-25) and assists (21-14).

Jay Washington top-scored in the game with 21 points and six rebounds. Hotshot freshman Terrence Romeo tallied 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, hampered by a 3-of-13 showing from the field and a 9-of-16 effort from the line. Sol Mercado added 14 points, while another first-year player, Justin Chua logged 11 points and five rebounds. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Talk N' Text 106 - Fonacier 18, Alapag 17, Seigle 13, Castro 12, Carey 11, Baclao 10, Williams 8, Poligrates 7, Anthony 5, De Ocampo 3, Celiz 2, Ferriols 0, Reyes 0

GlobalPort 93 - Washington 21, Romeo 16, Mercado 14, Chua 11, Garcia 7, Nabong 6, Salva 6, Belencion 4, Hayes 4, Lingganay 2, Menk 2, Ponferrada 0, Salvador 0

Quarter scoring: 34-20, 64-51, 91-68, 106-93