PBA: Importless Texters survive Globalport, sweep elims

MANILA, Philippines – Even without import Richard Howell who is nursing a shoulder injury, the powerhouse Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters was able to remain sharp and perfect.

Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo bailed out the Tropang Texters from defeat, prevailing against a determined Globalport crew, 92-91 in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, April 11 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Castro canned in a long range bomb – his only field goal of the night – over the defense of Ronnie Matias with just 29.6 ticks left, pushing the Texters ahead 89-85 and sank two free throws later on while De Ocampo fired big baskets in the fourth period, dousing Globalport’s quest of nailing their first win in the conference.

The Batang Pier went neck and neck with the league leaders until the final buzzer, knowing it is their ultimate chance to end the slump;but lost the heart-breaking thriller as Evan Brock failed to hit a free throw that could have tied the game with just 1.9 seconds remaining.

The Tropang Texters had to fend off a tremendous performance from Alex Cabagnot before becoming the first PBA squad in 24 years to sweep the elimination round. They finished with a 9-0 card and shall carry a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.

Globalport meanwhile found themselves on the very bottom of the standings with a winless record in 8 games.

Down 63-67, Talk ‘N Text opened the fourth canto with seven straight points, capped by a Larry Fonacier trey to regain the lead at 70-67.

Alex Cabagnot and Kelly Williams then traded baskets, with the former’s hoop giving Globalport a 77-76 edge.

But Ranidel de Ocampo, a strong candidate for this conference’s best player honors, decided to take the matters into his own hands, draining two triples and a three-point play to hand coach Norman Black the 85-80 lead in the final 3:55.

A trey from Cabagnot and a basket inside by Brock made it 85-86 with only 1:25 to go, before Castro nailed a crucial three.

Cabagnot answered with two freebies, 87-89 before Batang Pier were given a golden opportunity by Castro as he dribbled the basketball off his foot coming from an inbounds play.

Globalport then mapped out a play and went to Cabagnot who faked a shot from three-point land, trying to fish a foul from Williams. Williams bit the fake but while there was contact, no foul was called.

That play led to a Castro rebound. He was immediately sent to the line and sank two more free throws to make it 91-87, 6.5 ticks left.

But Cabagnot was determined enough to hand the Batang Pier their first victory, nailing a huge triple from top of the key with just 3.8 seconds left to make it a one-point game, 90-91.

De Ocampo then split from the line before Brock drew a foul from Harvey Carey on the other end coming off a timeout.

However, the import’s second throw came up short, thus enabling TNT to survive.

De Ocampo scored 12 of his 17 points in the 4th to lead the Texters while Kelly Williams had 16 points and 11 rebounds as the duo took care of TNT’s frontline sans Howell.

Scores:

Talk ‘N Text (92) – De Ocampo 17, Williams 16, Seigle 16, Fonacier 15, Canaleta 10, Castro 5, Alapag 4, Aban 3, Salamat 2, Baclao 2, Carey 2, Reyes Rob 0, Reyes Jai 0, Reyes Ryan 0.

GlobalPort (91) – Cabagnot 29, Brock 26, Salva 10, Salvador 8, Nabong 6, Macapagal 6, Matias 2, Sharma 2, Custodio 2, Yee 0, Chua 0, Garcia 0.

Quarterscores: 22-19, 40-41, 63-67, 92-91

– Rappler.com