Talk ‘N Text sweeps Petron to book spot in Final Four

Talk ‘N Text doesn’t have the reigning all-Filipino champion crew at its disposal for nothing.
With import Jeremy Jordan again failing to come up with the big numbers to match his big frame, the Tropang Texters last night got the goods from their talented local crew to sweep past Petron Blaze and barge into the PBA Commissioner’s Cup’s Final Four.
Ryan Reyes and Jason Castro were both big in the clutch as the Texters pounded out a 96-86 victory over the Boosters at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao for the second semifinal slot.
“Once again, you have to give a lot of credit to the local players,” coach Norman Black said after getting another dismal performance from his import. One good thing about my team is that I have experienced (local) players.
“They knew that we had to make a run, otherwise, our season is over.” Black had told reporters after a narrow series-opening win that he would talk to Jordan and get the best out of the former New York Knick in the National Basketball Association, the fortunes of the Texters here obviously lying on their import.
But like he did in Game 1, Jordan shot the same number of points, 11, and grabbed the same meager number of rebounds, five, which left Black no choice but to turn to his locals.
“I must have told (him) the wrong things,” Black said in a joking tone.
Jordan, though, did make a contribution in the fourth period, when he made six straight free throws that touched off a closing 19-7 run as the Texters erased a 77-79 deficit and won with plenty to spare.
Petron, which has a mean local lineup of its own and a more dependable import in Henry Sims, was held to just 12 points in the final frame, and of those, seven came inside the final nine minutes that highlighted how hard Talk ‘N Text defended the Boosters.
The Boosters were still in it, trailing by just 86-91 with under three minutes left.
But Petron muffed all of its chances, with Ronald Tubid missing two and Arwind Santos one triple attempt – all wide open – to seal their doom. That sequence actually had the Boosters taking five attempts in one possession, made possible by four offensive rebounds by Marcio Lassiter.
Incidentally, it was Lassiter who carried most of the offensive load for Petron in the first half, which it controlled. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard hit 19 points in the first two periods only to lose steam in the final half to add just four.
Talk ‘N Text will clash with the winner of the Rain or Shine-Barangay Ginebra quarterfinal duel, which the crowd-darling Gin Kings sent to a deciding second game Saturday night after a 90-83 decision at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The KO match is scheduled today also at the Big Dome, with the Kings having momentum in the 6:45 p.m. match.
Another series that will go the full route is the Meralco-San Mig Coffee tiff after the Mixers, the defending champions here, tore the Bolts apart in the fourth quarter later last night for a 100-92 Game 2 win.
Denzel Bowles scattered 35 points that went with 14 boards and rookie Alex Mallari had a career-high 16 points in a stint off the bench.
And the victory assured a repeat scenario of both teams’ playoff clash in this very same round last year, when the Mixers also lost Game 1 and won the next two handily.
“We certainly haven’t won anything yet. There’s nothing to get excited about,” Cone said. “We really have to take a more businesslike approach in this series. I thought we didn’t do that in Game 1.” The rubber match of that series will be played on Wednesday night with the winner to advance opposite elimination round topnotcher Alaska in a separate best-of-five series.