TEXTERS EQUALIZE, 2-2

TALK N Text coach Chot Reyes finally got the game he wanted from most of his key players and caught
B-Meg on a listless night to boot.

Immediate result was a 100-85 victory by the Tropang Texters Sunday that enabled them to turn their
PBA Commissioner's Cup championship duel into a best-of-three affair at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The men Reyes has singled out, Ranidel de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag, turned in double digit outputs
and helped Jared Dillinger and Larry Fonacier in towing the defending champions to the original
best-of-seven series' most lopsided victory so far.

"Bumalik na mula sa bakasyon, medyo na-delay lang pala ang flight," was how Reyes described the
players who combined for 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a game that turned ugly near
the end.

"All our conversations yesterday were centered at coming out and playing good Talk 'N Text
basketball for 48 minutes," added Reyes, turning more serious. 

"I told them let's make sure to capitalize on a great effort for this game and that's what
happened."

B-Meg's own regular reliables were not their usual selves, adding to coach Tim Cone's frustrations
that led to him walking out of the game with still close to a minute left.

Best Import awardee Denzel Bowles and Joe Devance each had 17 points to pace B-Meg and Josh
Urbiztondo and James Yap scored 15 and 14, respectively. But Yap went 3-for-16 from the field and PJ
Simon only had five points, eight below his series average, on just five shots.

That led to a TNT victory that was practically decided when TNT charged to two 19-point leads, the
last at 87-69, 5:53 left.

"The bottom line was, they came out with a high level of desperation we didn't match or respond to,"
said Cone, who lost his balance and got knocked down following a near-collision with an unwitting
referee Art Herrera in the sideline.

"I was daydreaming when it happened, thinking about the next game, the stuff that's going on," he
related. 

Prior to that, Cone was also first-hand witness to TNT rookie Pamboy Raymundo sparking an incident
that led to two ejections.

"I was upset after getting knocked down, not being apologized to or not being helped to get up by
the referee," added Cone, who was already assessed a technical foul for crossing the court at the
half. "So I walked off so as not to get myself (into more) trouble."

After being limited to just two points at the half, Donnell Harvey came alive in the third period
where he scattered 10 of his 14, boosting the Texters to a 73-60 lead going into the final 12
minutes of play.

B-Meg displayed some of its old fire after falling behind by 46-65 in the third and got helped along
by Reyes' decision to sit Harvey. Bowles' four points and Yap's triple sparked and fueled a 10-0 run
that put the Llamados within 58-67.

The game took on a more rugged complexion in the final 1:47 mark with TNT comfortably ahead 96-81.

Raymundo gets into scrap with, first, Urbiztondo and Devance. Raymundo's elbow in a bid to fight
Urbiztondo's upcoming pick was followed by Devance bouncing the ball on the TNT guard's face and the
latter retaliating with an open-handed blow to the B-Meg forward's nape.

As a result, Devance was assessed a flagrant foul penalty 2, Raymundo two F1 infractions and both
were ejected.

The rout's foundation was laid down early.

Averaging just 3.7 points in the series' first three games, Dillinger already had 14 points at the
half and had plenty of help in TNT's surge to a 47-35 lead at the break.

Ryan Reyes and De Ocampo each had nine points and Harvey was ably tending the boards with nine
rebounds as the Texters put on a dazzling show that gained full momentum in the second period.

Bowles and JC Intal each had six points in the close opening quarter and Urbiztondo's triple even
had B-Meg surging ahead 21-18. (NC)

Source: http://www.pba.ph/news/entry/1551 

CAGUIOA NAMED BEST PLAYER OF THE CONFERENCE; BOWLES IS BEST IMPORT

Mark Caguioa has got a better vision now nearly a month after the accident causing him a fractured
orbital socket.

The Barangay Ginebra main man saw and felt the adoration of the crowd as he stood at centercourt
Sunday being hailed as the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Player.

Though sitting out the playoffs due to his injury, Caguioa still salvaged the Best Player of the
Conference (BPC) award, riding the strength of his sterling showing in the elimination round which
brought the Kings to the semifinals outright.

Caguioa beat Gary David in one of the closest BPC races ever and thus prevented the Powerade scoring
machine from earning a rare back-to-back BPC honors and from virtually putting the wraps on the
season’s Most Valuable Player plum.

B-Meg’s Denzel Bowles, meanwhile, ran away with the Best Import award.

Caguioa and Bowles received their plaques from PBA commissioner Chito Salud before Game Four of the
Commissioner’s Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Caguioa was surprised to win the award as he missed the playoffs and placed only second behind David
in the stats race.

“I would have given it to David. Grabe ang inilalaro niya. He’s really working hard,” said
Caguioa.

But David himself felt Caguioa deserved the award more than anybody else.

“Nakita naman natin ang impact niya. Noong nawala siya, na-out na sila,” said David in a social
network.

Caguioa had carried the Kings to an outright entry into the semifinals before being sidelined by
injury.

For all his whopping numbers, David, meanwhile, failed to bring the Tigers to the playoffs.

Caguioa gained the nod of the media, his fellow players and the PBA, accumulating 1,085 points as
against David’s 900. Cyrus Baguio finished third in the race with 556 points, followed by Marcio
Lassiter with 470 and LA Tenorio with 434.

“I’m still not happy. I wanted to play in the semis. Parang ako lang ang masaya nito. I want
everyone else in my team happy. I want another championship for my team,” said Caguioa.

Told that he has automatically become an official contender for the season’s MVP derby being a BPC
winner, Caguioa said: “Eh, baka bigla akong makalaro niyan.”

Caguioa, however, might miss the rest of the season.

“If my condition doesn’t improve, the doctors say I may undergo a surgical procedure. Pero di ko
iniisip yon. Ang nasa isip ko lalaro ako,” said Caguioa.

The 2001 Rookie of the Year awardee bagged a second BPC plum after winning the same honors in the
2006 Philippine Cup.

He’s been on a roll and finally making it on top following runner-up finishes in the BPC races in
the second and third conferences last year.

The 6-foot-1 guard crashed into the Top Five in the stats race in this tourney with averages of 16.9
points and 6.4 rebounds in 10 games. (SB)

Source: http://www.pba.ph/news/entry/1550

Castro lifts Talk ‘N Text over B-MEG to tie series

Jayson Castro was so fast, the B-MEG Llamados didn’t know what hit them.
Talk ‘N Text was trailing by five points, 99-94, with less than two minutes left when Castro scored six straight points including the go-ahead three-pointer at the 35.7-second mark to lift the Tropang Texters to a 104-102 victory Wednesday night at the packed SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Talk ‘N Text preserved the win, but not without several tense moments at the free throw line. The Tropang Texters forced two straight defensive stops, but Donnell Harvey and Kelly Williams both missed all their ensuing free throws to keep the Llamados in the game.
But B-MEG import Denzel Bowles threw the ball away off Williams’ miss, instead of calling timeout. Ryan Reyes cradled the ball, making two free throws to give Talk ‘N Text a 102-99 edge. The Tropang Texters sent Bowles to the free throw line on the next possession, and the B-MEG reinforcement split his free throws to cut the deficit to two points.
Jimmy Alapag hit two more free throws in the succeeding play to preserve the win for the Tropang Texters, before Bowles hit a meaningless layup to end the game for the final score.
“In the end, it will all boil down to the last possession, that’s how it’s gonna be,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes.
He credited a more efficient performance for his team for the victory.
“Today we only had seven turnovers and 12 missed free throws. We can survive a game with that number of turnovers and missed shots,” Reyes said.
He said it really was his strategy to foul Bowles at the end of the game with Talk ‘N Text up three points.
“It was my instruction to foul Bowles. My only fault was not telling Ali Peek to foul when Bowles was still in the half court. But then again, it’s a much better gamble instead of giving up a foul when Bowles was already attacking or have given up a hand off to a shooter, who’ll take a three-pointer and give up three free throws,” said Reyes.
Talk ‘N Text tied the series at 1-all, winning despite explosive performances from Bowles, who scored 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and James Yap, who scored 20 of his conference-high 25 points in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Yap also had eight rebounds.
Harvey carried the fight for Talk ‘N Text, scoring 29 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Castro added 23 points, five rebounds, and five assists despite nursing various leg injuries.
The scores:
Talk ‘N Text 104 – Harvey 29, Castro 23, Reyes 13, Peek 12, Williams 8, Dillinger 6, De Ocampo 6, Fonacier 4, Alapag 3, Gamalinda 0, Carey 0
B-MEG – Bowles 33, Yap 25, Urbiztondo 15, Simon 10, Pingris 9, Barroca 4, Devance 4, De Ocampo 2, Intal 0, Villanueva 0, Reavis 0
Quarters: 24-16, 49-48, 73-75, 104-102

Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/castro-lifts-talk-n-text-over-b-meg-to-tie-series

CONE, REYES WANT EXTRA EFFORT

B-MEG coach Tim Cone can't stress enough the need for his charges to dig deep within themselves and


find the energy and intensity for an even better game.



So does his Talk N Text counterpart, Chot Reyes.



It is with such similar intents as backdrop that the Llamados and Tropang Texters square off anew

Wednesday in Game 2 of their PBA Commissioner's Cup championship duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.



B-Meg took the best-of-seven series opener 88-82 last Monday after making the defensive stops while

pouncing on TNT's atrocious shooting from both the stripes and the field.



How to follow that act up is Cone's main concern.



"I've said it before, that for us to win back-to-back games takes extra effort," said Cone.



His own players finding the will and touch following a dismal performance gnaws at Reyes.



The Texters made only 29 of 75 field attempts but it was his team's 16-for-36 foul shooting,

including a 3-for-10 clip in the decisive fourth period, that rankled Reyes most.



"in the crucial moments we kept missing," said Reyes. "We had too many turnovers, missed too many

shots, and they outrebounded us. But in the end, if we missed 10 less free throws than we did we

could have won.



"That's basketball. We need to put that ball through the hoop. In this game, we just couldn't."



Cone, however, won't be so easily deceived and knows there are other areas Reyes and his staff would

be working on.



"They'll look at the tapes, see what we've been doing, the pick-and-rolls, and also what we're

trying to take away. They'll see those," said Cone.



"I've always felt the loser in a series has the advantage coming into the next game," he added.

"They will make the adjustments and we have to make quick reactions in the course of the game. It

could be difficult doing that. They have 48 hours to decide what to do."



Cone and his staff will also be looking at the tapes and would sure be having the Llamados

sharpening their three-point shooting after making only 1-for-8 to the Texters' 8-for-25 clip from

beyond the arc. Free throw shooting should be on one corner of his mind.



"It was real kind of reversal," said Cone, whose charges went 5-for-13 from the stripe in the fourth

period after missing just four of 10 in the entire first half.



"In the first half, they missed 10 free throws. We're really lucky, for in the second half they

started making and we started missing those free throws."



B-Meg also did not get to the line in third period while TNT made seven of 10 charities that helped

raze the Llamados' 48-40 halftime lead and install the Texters ahead, 67-62, going into the fourth.



Then the defending champion's sour shooting returned and not only from the stripe. In the first

seven minutes of the final canto, the Texters went 0-for-6 from the field and 2-for-6 from the

stripe, helping fuel the Llamados' surge to a 77-69 lead.



Despite their woes the Texters still managed to keep within 82-86 and got given a lease on life when

Denzel Bowles almost ruined a 25-point, 11-rebound performance with two missed charities in the

final 30 seconds.



But the Texters bade their bid goodbye by going 0-for-2 from the field and committing a turnover the

rest of the way, in the process totally stoking Reyes' frustrations. (NC)


Source: http://www.pba.ph/news/entry/1545

PBA approves Lassiter-to-Petron deal; Powerade ‘happy with trade’

The PBA has approved the five-man transaction that would finally bring star rookie Marcio Lassiter from the Powerade Tigers to the Petron Blaze Boosters.
In a text message, PBA media bureau chief Willie Marcial confirmed the league’s approval of the deal.
The trade is a revised version of an initial proposal last February, which would have sent Lassiter to the Boosters in exchange for Rey Guevarra and Noy Baclao. That original proposal was vetoed by the PBA, with league commissioner Chito Salud saying that it would have a negative effect on the league’s balance.
In the new trade, Powerade sent Lassiter and Celino Cruz to Petron for Guevarra, Rabeh Al-Hussaini, and Lordy Tugade. The PBA described the trade as having “acceptable parity” for both sides.
Powerade went through with the deal despite an earlier pronouncement from coach Bo Perasol that he would prefer that the team not trade Lassiter, the team’s second-leading local scorer and the top candidate for the Rookie of the Year award. Perasol was among the signatories to the trade documents.
Powerade executive Ronnie Asuncion, for his part, explained the rationale behind the trade in a statement. “We are very happy with this trade. We are getting a much-needed big man in Rabeh Al-Hussaini and getting two proven shooters and scorers in Guevarra and Tugade,” he said. The statement added that Perasol welcomed the trade.
Al-Hussaini won Rookie of the Year honors last season, but has just recently returned to action after recovering from torn ACL surgery. Tugade, 34, is a veteran shooter who has seen limited minutes for Petron, while Guevarra, the third overall pick in last season’s draft, is a role player off the bench for the Boosters.
Cruz, 34, is a journeyman point guard who has seen action for Shell, Red Bull, Burger King, Purefoods, and Ginebra.

Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/pba-approves-lassiter-to-petron-deal-powerade-happy-with-trade