MANILA: Chot Reyes was wearing a frown when he stepped into the press room.
But it was understandable for a coach who nearly saw a 34-point lead evaporate and needed a steady endgame to prevail.
“It’s one of those games where a win feels like a loss,” Reyes told reporters after his Talk ‘N Text crew was held to 36 second half points on the way to a 97-91 victory over a hard-fighting Sta. Lucia side in the PBA Fiesta Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m proud that we hung in there, but it’s hard to be happy when you squander a 30-point lead,” the mercurial former RP Team coach said. “We can’t seem to find the consistency and killer’s instinct to put people away and that’s a problem we have to address.”
Talk ‘N Text held the Realtors to 13 points in the second period and to just 30 overall in the first half, taking a 31-point lead at the turn before almost blowing it by playing cautious and allowing Sta. Lucia to come within five points in the dying minutes.
It took clutch baskets by Mac Cardona and some crucial misses by the Realtors in the stretch for the Texters to win for the second straight time and rise to 4-3 overall, the same record now being held by Purefoods, which came from behind to nip Burger King, 82-78.
Peter June Simon was tossed back into the fray with 36 seconds left to drain a jumper, chalk up a key steal just seconds later, which sent Jhamar Thorpe for a charity split, as the Tender Juicy Giants broke the game’s last tie at 78 also for a second straight victory.
Talk ‘N Text, the No. 1 offensive team, actually almost folded up in the endgame yet again, similar to the time when it flubbed a 24-point fourth quarter lead against lowly Barako Bull to lose, 133-135, before the long lull. The Texters knocked in nine of their final 12 points from the stripe, the other three points belonging to Cardona, who connected on a triple that doused cold water on the last of a series of searing Sta. Lucia fightbacks.
Still, it did not deserve kind words from Reyes afterwards.
“People say that a win is a win,” he said disgustedly. “But this one is a win that’s a loss.”
Talk ‘N Text took a 59-25 lead with 2:02 left in the second quarter after a Harvey Carey basket, and the Texters looked well on the way to scoring the tournament’s most lopsided win until things went cold offensively for them.
The Realtors were still behind, 77-59, at the end of the third quarter, until they found the inner resolve to go out with a fight that almost resulted in one of the league’s greatest comebacks.
Hard-nosed point guard Denok Miranda pushed the Realtors within striking distance at 87-82, before Cardona, the Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player, answered with that triple from left quarter court that gave the Texters the breathing room they badly needed, 90-82, 3:49 to play.
Joseph Yeo, Sta. Lucia’s high-flying swingman, then scored three straight points as the Realtors threatened for the last time at 92-87, before Yeo himself flubbed a short jumper and a triple in their next two possessions.
Rookie Jason Castro hit two charities off a Miranda foul with 47 seconds left to seal the deal for the Texters, 96-87.
Tiras Wade led Talk ‘N Text with 26 points, Cardona finished with 19, while Castro, showing great skill to play alongside another point guard in Jimmy Alapag, contributed 17.
Burger King was in control most of the night and it wasn’t as fortunate as Talk ‘N Text.
After Simon had made that jumper and that steal for that three-point lead, Topex Robinson then picked Gary David’s pocket on the other end, in the potential game-tying play of the Whoppers, to send James Yap to the stripe for his charity split.
Thorpe also kept his spot in the roster at least for the next game after hitting 28 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and stealing three times to lead the Giants.
Kerby Raymundo sizzled with 17 of his 20 points in the final half when the Giants tugged at the coattails of the Whoppers, and Yap , despite an atrocious 4-of-17 clip from the field, still finished with 12 markers.
Arwind Santos paced the Whoppers with 18 points.
Meanwhile, defending champion Barangay Ginebra was left with no other choice but to send Ryan Humphreys home after the NBA vet, who arrived yesterday morning, was found to be 7/16th of an inch over the 6-foot-6 height limit for imports.
The Gin Kings would need to find a replacement or face fines if they fail to suit up an import in time for tomorrow’s game against Rain or Shine. Rod Nealy, Ginebra’s first import, was sent home two weeks ago.
