Talk ‘N Text knew what was at stake in this game, and the Tropang Texters somehow managed to grind this one out.
“We knew that we would be in big trouble if we fell down 0-2,” coach Norman Black said with a sigh of relief after his wards fended off Barangay Ginebra, 85-79, last night before the PBA Commissioner’s Cup’s biggest crowd of close to 18,000.
Ranidel de Ocampo hit a triple with 33.7 seconds left which proved to be the biggest basket of the game as the Texters sewed it all up at 1-1 at the Araneta Coliseum before going into a nine-day All-Star break in Davao.
Talk ‘N Text actually came from behind before winning this one as the Texters wiped out a nine-point third quarter deficit by opening up the final frame with a 12-0 run.
It was also De Ocampo who shoved the Texters ahead for good, with his three-point play off the rejuvenated Kerby Raymundo giving Talk ‘N Text a 76-75 lead going into the final 4:33.
Defense also played a key part in the win, with the Texters holding the Gin Kings scoreless in the final 2:30 after Ginebra had come within 79-80 off a barrelling drive by import Vernon Macklin over the 7-foot Jerome Jordan.
Jordan had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Black praised him for a good defensive job on Macklin. But team sources have it that a new import is in town and will be ready to take Jordan’s job when the series resumes on May 8.
“I am happier with the performance of Jerome, he did a much better job defensively,” Black said. “That (Jordan’s defensive effort) really helped the team a lot.” Jordan played just hard enough to make life miserable for Macklin, who finished with just 15 points and 17 rebounds as Raymundo and another veteran, former MVP Jay-Jay Helterbrand, hit some big baskets earlier that allowed Ginebra to play with control.
Josh Urbiztondo, a late addition to the Kings, fired 15 points all on three-pointers, with his last triple that seemingly came from the parking lot shoving Ginebra to a 75-73 lead with 5:34 left.
Incidentally, that De Ocampo trey was the first three-pointer by any Talk ‘N Text player in the series outside of Jimmy Alapag as the Texters had gone 0-for-22 before that dagger basket by the 6-foot-7 power forward.
Alapag, the MVP three seasons ago, had three treys and finished with 17 points, including two free throws with 26.3 seconds remaining for what turned out to be the final count.
Meanwhile, San Mig Coffee shoots for a commanding 2-0 lead over Alaska today, with the defending champion Mixers hoping to ride the momentum of a 71-69 Game 1 win.
The game is set for 6:45 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay and the Mixers and coach Tim Cone will be trying to stay perfect in close to two seasons against Cone’s former squad.
Game 1 of this side of the Final Four didn’t start out pretty, with San Mig shooting just seven points in the first quarter and 21 for the first half. Alaska also couldn’t score that much as the Aces took just a three-point lead into the third period.
And Cone believes that the rest of the series would take the same Game 1 complexion.
“It was not a pretty game, but this will definitely be a magnificent battle,” Cone said after the win, while acknowledging that Alaska came up with a great defensive ploy that almost gave the Aces the win.
San Mig will be looking to win a 10th straight game against the Aces ever since Cone left Alaska to join the Mixers.
