Hot Petron blows away Talk ‘N Text 122-88

Petron Blaze is playing so well of late that even a powerhouse like Talk ‘N Text didn’t stand a chance.
The Boosters held the Tropang Texters to a paltry seven points in the second period Wednesday night and proceeded in blowing Talk ‘N Text off the Araneta Coliseum floor, with a 122-88 victory practically assuring Petron of a top four berth in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs.
It was the sixth straight win after a tournament-opening loss for the Boosters, who made the Texters look so bad that it could have marked the final game of Talk ‘N Text import Tony Mitchell.
The Texters, though, would have to play Mitchell on Friday when they go up against lowly Air21, unless management can arrange for the arrival of a replacement in time for their 5:15 p.m. match with the Express.
So dominating were the Boosters that they already scored 94 points after just three quarters and took a 31-point lead into the fourth period.
“It was a big game for us because we formally clinched a twice-to-beat advantage,” Petron coach Gee Abanilla said. “We played good defense tonight, seven points for them in the second quarter was big for us.”
In the quarterfinals, teams that finish in the top four after the elimination round would need to win just once over a foe belonging to the bottom half of the draw. The last two teams in the 10-team field will be eliminated.
“We need to stay grounded and learn what we have to learn,” Abanilla continued. “We want to continue to compete against any team. We want to come out and learn new things.
Abanilla, though, gave a hint that their final two games in the round will be a time for them to rest some of his best players to keep them fresh in time for the playoffs.
“We can experiment on things we want to do offensively and defensively,” he said, referring to their final two games, which will be against Alaska and Globalport, a couple of struggling sides. “That’s a luxury that we have.”
Elijah Millsap scored 25 points, had 10 rebounds and five assists in just 32 minutes, and Alex Cabagnot fired 20 that went with eight boards and five feeds as the duo spearheaded the hot Petron offensive.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini paced the Texters with 18 points and Sean Anthony added 11. Mitchell made just 3-of-14 shots from the field and finished with just seven markers. Coach Norman Black played him for just 21 minutes.
Meanwhile, Globalport snapped a three-game losing streak earlier in the night by pulling out a 91-79 decision of Meralco to keep its shot at advancing to the playoffs for the first time alive.
The Batang Pier came back from a 20-point deficit in the second quarter and a 16-point hole at the half by playing a second half to remember as the win sealed their finest conference in the league after rising to 3-4.
The loss was the first in four games and third in seven matches overall for the Bolts, who dropped into a second place tie with idle Rain or Shine, Barako Bull and San Mig Coffee.
Markeith Cummings scored 32 points to lead all Globalport shooters, with Gary David hitting 14 of his 21 in the third period which keyed the Batang Pier uprising.
Mario West fouled out with still six minutes left after contributing 22 points for Meralco.
Globalport has won just a combined three games in its first two tournaments in the PBA, and the Batang Pier will be closing out their elimination round schedule here against Petron and crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra.