Rain or Shine, starring RP Team point guard Solomon Mercado, upended rock-solid San Miguel, 110-107, beating the Beermen in their own high-scoring game, which gave Talk ’N Text the opportunity to reclaim a piece of the PBA Philippine Cup lead Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Texters, whose coach, Chot Reyes, will join the RP squad as consultant in the coming Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, dodged the upset axe later in the night by nipping a game Barako Bull squad, 84-83.
San Miguel lost for the first time in six matches – the first for new coach Ato Agustin – as the Beermen dropped into a tie for the lead with the Texters at 6-2.
Mercado scored 19 of his 26 points in the final two quarters and got a lot of help from Doug Kramer in the fourth period as the Elasto Painters posted back-to-back wins for the first time in the tournament to improve to an even 4-4 card.
“This is a big win and with it I think we showed this team is talented enough to beat anybody in this league,” said Mercado, who is being loaned to the RP squad that will battle Asia’s best in the quadrennial meet starting this week.
“It’s just a matter of playing the way we should play,” said Mercado.
Kramer, meanwhile, hit two insurance free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining which gave the Elasto Painters a safe 109-105 lead.
“I hope this is the start of something,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia, who just last week had a very heated locker room argument with his ace point guard, told reporters. “If we play this way, there will be no team that can relax against us.
“Whatever happened between me and Sol is only going to make us a healthier team,” Garcia continued. “We can still beat other teams without Sol if we continue to play this way. It’s just about stepping up.”
Kramer wound up with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Mercado added eight feeds in what could go down as one of his best all-around performances in the tournament.
Gabe Norwood, the former Rookie of the Year winner, had 18 points, six rebounds and three assists and Larry Rodriguez contributed 16 markers for the Painters, who will miss Mercado in their game against defending champion Derby Ace on Nov. 19 and against Alaska on Nov. 28.
Arwind Santos had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Jay Washington 18 markers and 13 caroms for the Beermen, who were outscored, 65-53 in the second half even though they had a 67-54 edge at one point in the third period.
Reyes, meanwhile, had his usual heroes delivering for him in the endgame that was surprisingly tight against one of the lowliest teams in the league.
Jimmy Alapag had 16 points and Kelly Williams contributed 14 that went with 10 boards as the Texters bounced back from a shock loss to the Llamados to again keep the Beermen company.
“We have no problems with our effort and defensive intensity against the top teams,” Reyes told reporters. “But against below .500 teams, we are struggling. It’s a good thing that we didn’t allow ourselves to get frustrated even though we couldn’t blow them (Energy Boosters) away.”
Sunday Salvacion hit two triples to close out the game and finished with 17 points to pace the Boosters, who dropped to 2-5 and joined the walking-wounded Derby Ace crew in the cellar.
Talk ‘N Text appeared ready to make it a rout, leading by as many as 17 points in the third quarter and was surprised by a late Barako Bull charge in the fourth that had the Boosters coming within 71-74 entering the final four minutes.
Paolo Hubalde actually made it 75-76 after two free throws off Alapag with 2:22 left before Williams and Alapag hit two free throws each for 80-75 heading into the last 1:32.
The Texters will play their next two games – against San Miguel and a return bout with Barako Bull – without Reyes and Williams.
Williams has also been loaned to the National squad, but Reyes said he is confident that his boys will be fine while he is away.
“It’s like good parenting,” Reyes said. “That’s the sign of a good team.”
