The shots were falling. The fastbreaks were rolling. And Petron was crumbling.
Two down, two to go.
Knocking down attempts as if they were mere lay-ups, Talk ‘N Text shot in remarkable fashion from the field Friday night and tore Petron down to pieces in a crushing 132-105 victory in Game 3 for a 2-1 lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup championship series at the Araneta Coliseum.
Two nights after blowing the Boosters out in Tubod, Lanao del Norte in an 18-point victory tainted by a near free-for-all late in the second period, the Texters were clinical once again in breaking Petron’s defenses apart, scoring 63 first half points before following it up with a 40-point assault in the third quarter as Talk ‘N Text moved halfway to capturing the Grand Slam only three franchises have so far accomplished.
The 27-point win was a reflection of how deep and talented Talk ‘N Text is, and how obviously depleted Petron is.
The result even drew the ire of Petron coach Ato Agustin, according to TNT head mentor Chot Reyes.
“He (Agustin) challenged me to a fist fight,” said Reyes during the post-game interview. “I told him I wouldn’t fight him. I really don’t know what he was upset about.” Agustin later laughed off the incident, saying: “Wala ‘yun. Niyakap ko lang. Nilambing ko lang. Nagsumbong ba agad?” Understandably, no losing coach would love the lopsided outcome.
“We were not able to contain their fastbreak points,” Agustin said.
“Lahat ng department talo kami. Blowout talaga. Second, undermanned kami. Wala na kaming mahugot and pagod na rin ang mga players.” In what probably could be the all-time highest in a Finals’ series, Talk ‘N Text shot a blazing 67.1 percent from the field, converting 53 of its 79 shots. The Texters also had seven more rebounds (45-38) and won the game even though they only had 15 free throw attempts compared to the 38 of Petron.
So dominating were the Texters they led by as many as 41 points at 114-73 on a basket by Ali Peek with 9:30 left to play in the game, and the crowd that was hoping for another upset just like the 89-88 win in Game 1 by Petron began to head their way to the nearest exit gate.
From 0-1, Talk ‘N Text has now seized command of the best-of-seven championship series. And the worst thing the Texters could do now is to relax.
“The key for us now is to anticipate what their adjustments would be,” Reyes said. “I have too much respect for that team that they will do anything to bounce back.” Arwind Santos, who was earlier named the Best Player of the Conference, was a big flop for the Boosters. He shot 0-of-8 from the field and only had seven rebounds.
“Kung ang best player naming ay ganun ang performance, hindi talaga kami mananalo,” said Agustin.
Jayson Castro, after a 24-point performance in Game 2, once more led the way in scoring for the Texters with 23, 17 in the second period when Talk ‘N Text broke loose from a back-and-forth game to carry the franchise on to a 63-52 lead at halftime.
Scottie Reynolds added 17 and Larry Fonacier 16 for the Texters.
Anthony Grundy had 26 points for Petron and Denok Miranda added 22.
Danny Ildefonso started out and contributed 18 points.
Meantime, Santos garnered 1,306 votes out of the 3,623 that were tallied in the BPC race, beating Mark Caguioa of sister-team Ginebra, Jayson Castro of Talk ‘N Text, Alaska’s Sonny Thoss, B-Meg’s James Yap and Sol Mercado of Meralco.
The outstanding product of Far Eastern U, who likewise remains a strong contender for the season’s Most Valuable Player honor, collected 602 votes from the media, 108 from the players, 150 from TV coveror Solar-Sports, and 150 from the PBA Committee to win by 406 votes against Ginebra’s take-charge guy, who wound up with 900.
Santos has never won a BPC during his five years with the PBA, let alone a championship. The highest individual award he was able to win was the Best Player of the Conference in the Elimination Round of the Philippine Cup this season.
Castro finished with 505 votes, Thoss 310, Yap 309, and Mercado 293.
Arizona Reid, on the other hand, was chosen as the Best Import in a balloting that was tight to the finish.
Reid beat Jason Forte, 1060-1010, becoming the first reinforcement since Larry Robinson (San Miguel Beer) in 1997 to win the award without his team advancing to the Finals.
Reid, who failed to play in Rain or Shine’s final game against Ginebra in the semifinals, led Forte in the statistical department (318-291) and swung the tide in his favor by claiming 593 votes from the media. He lost the voting among the players, Solar-Sports and the PBA Committee.
Santos actually was the leading player in the statistical points race with 293. Among those who voted, it was only Solar-Sports who didn’t give Santos the No. 1 spot, deciding to pick Caguioa.
In winning the BPC, Santos became the second player from Petron to win the award this season after Washington in the Philippine Cup. It was also the first time in 17 years that two players from the same franchise captured BPC honors since 1994, when Purefoods’ Gerry Codinera was adjudged BPC in the All-Filipino before teammate Alvin Patrimonio took the same award in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Anthony Grundy, who won the voting from Solar, finished third with 739 votes and Scottie Reynolds with 372. Donald Sloan of Ginebra had 372 while Myron Allen of B-Meg gained 139.
The Annual Leo Prieto Awards, on the other hand, will be held Sunday prior to the start of Game 4 of the Governors’ Cup Finals. The candidates for the coveted award are Joe Devance and Yap of B-Meg, Santos and Washington of Petron, Caguioa, Kelly Williams and Jimmy Alapag, and Merado.
Other awards to be presented Sunday are the Rookie of the Year, Mythical Team, All-Defensive Team, Sportsmanship, and Most Improved.
