Talk ‘N Text shoots their way to the semis

MANILA, Philippines – The first seed, twice-to-beat Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters were on fire in the fourth period as they zoomed to the semifinals by routing the 8th seed Barako Bull Energy, 99-84, in the 2014 PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup on Tuesday, June 17 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

KG Canaleta led the Texters’ scoring barrage midway in the fourth to finally break free from the close contest.

He nailed 6 triples, including two deflating back-to-back ones with 4:21 to play that made up 6 points of an 8-0 swing, paving the way for the Texters to notch a daunting 95-79 advantage, after being down 43-41 at the break.

After that Ranidel de Ocampo (14 points, 10 rebounds) made it a 97-79 affair with a basket of his own. He also nailed a trey earlier to give his team an 89-77 lead. Talk ‘N Text then simply went on cruise control until the end.

“Today the guy who stepped up was KG Canaleta, who just had an exceptional shooting night,” TNT head coach Norman Black said of Canaleta who wound up with 25 points.

The 32-year old swingman was acquired by Talk ‘N Text from Air21 in exchange for Eloy Poligrates and Sean Anthony in a trade that occured just before the quarter finals of the 2014 Philippine Cup.

“I always tell KG that when he played for Air21 he was a Talk ‘N Text killer because he always played great against us and that’s the reason we traded for him,” Black explained chuckling. “And tonight he did it for us against another team.”

The Texters’ three-point shooting was steady throughout the game, and came at pivotal points of the contest, as they hit 6 triples in the first half and another 6 in the final 24 minutes.

Barako, however, sizzled in the first half with 7 but grew cold in the second half with only 4.

For Black, notorious for his uncanny ability to make key adjustments at halftime, the key was their defensive adjustment for the last two periods.

“I thought the main key in this game was our defense in the second half. The first half we tried to play Durham straight up with minimal help and it didn’t really work so we decided just to go after him and try to get the ball out of his hands,” he explained.

“It worked in the second half because their offense sputtered and we were able to pull away.”

Barako import Allen Durham had to bleed for his 25 points and 17 rebounds as TNT outscored Barako in the second half, 58-41.

Import Paul Harris finished with 24 markers and 13 boards while Jayson Castro came up with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Castro also kept rookie playmaker Jeric Fortuna in check with just 6 points and an assist for Barako.

“It seems to be a great team effort by my players today. I think we were very balanced as far as our scoring was concerned,” Black boted. “We have a lot of contributions from almost everybody.”

The Texters now await the winner between San Mig Coffee and San Miguel, whom they will face in the best-of-3 semifinal series.

At this point, Black says it doesn’t matter who Talk ‘N Text will meet. There’s also no desire to wish for a rematch with San Mig Coffee, their finals tormentors last conference.

“I don’t really care who we play against. It doesn’t really matter to me. Whether we face San Mig Coffee or San Miguel, we’ll be out there playing our best.”

Scores:

Talk ‘N Text (99) – Canaleta 25, Harris 24, Castro 16, De Ocampo 14, Williams 7, Fonacier 4, Alapag 3, Reyes Ryan 2, Baclao 2, Carey 2, Aban 0, Reyes Jai 0, Espiritu 0.

Barako (84) – Durham 25, Jensen 17, Miranda 12, Pennisi 11, Fortuna 6, Wilson 5, Miller 4, Marcelo 4, Deutchman 0, Intal 0.

Quarter scores: 16-17, 41-43, 73-65, 99-84.

– Rappler.com