MANILA: Talk 'N Text coach Jong Uichico is beginning to get to know his young wards a little more.

And the Tropang Texters are starting to play like the force that they are in the PBA Philippine Cup, with sister team Meralco on Wednesday night the first to feel the wrath of what could be their full potential in the years to come.

Rookies Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario played credibly for the first time as pros, and second-year off guard Matt Ganuelas-Rosser was a force all game as the Texters tore the Bolts to shreds, 105-91 for their most dominant performance as a team in the young season.

Ganuelas-Rosser scattered 19 points and Tautuaa and Rosario, 1-2, respectively, in the last Rookie Draft, combined for another 33 as the Texters waylaid the Bolts and kept them winless in the season-opening conference at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.

The victory against such a formidable team like the Bolts gave Uichico the chance to finally talk with a little bit of relief.

“I thought coming into this game that we could play better than we did in our last two games,” Uichico told reporters after his wards split their first pair of assignments, with the win coming in such a scary manner against Mahindra, 101-97, almost two weeks ago.

“And I think we did that today,” he said. “Generally, we played with a vast improvement (tonight) from the last two games we played.”

Tautuaa and Rosario ably plugged the hole created by the continued absence of the veteran Ranidel de Ocampo, who will be out for at least six more weeks after a back injury suffered while lifting weights.

The performances of two of Uichico’s much-ballyhooed rookies were complete reversals of the forms they showed in the first two games.

Against the Bolts, who have one of the hardest working frontlines in the league led by Cliff Hodge, Tautuaa asserted his presence inside and changed a lot of Meralco shots.

Rosario, meanwhile, showed that he can hit the outside shot and drive to the hoop, something which could help him in great stead in the future and give Uichico another weapon that could greatly complement De Ocampo.

“I’m trying to get to know them (rookies) and they are also in the process of trying to get to know my style (of coaching) better,” Uichico went on.

“I’m also just trying to understand where I can use them and it is also a process of them trying to understand how I want to use them,” he said.

Meralco got all of its starters scoring in double figures but couldn’t make its bench players contribute more offensively.

It was the third straight loss for the Bolts, who also fell to Blackwater last week, 92-90. They remained winless like the Mahindra Enforcers after three games.

And while Talk ‘N Text was one powerhouse that never struggled for the night, defending champion San Miguel Beer had a handful of problems before ditching the Elite, 93-83, in the nightcap.

It took the Beermen more than 85% of the way of hard work before breaking away from upset-conscious Blackwater and improving to 3-1 overall, tied for second with idle Alaska.

Rain or Shine, the side which inflicted the first loss on the Beermen, is at the top of the heap with a 3-0 record, with the Elasto Painters to stake their unblemished slate against dangerous Globalport on Friday.

June Mar Fajardo, the reigning two-time MVP, scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter came off the bench to also shoot 20, making 4-of-5 triples in another impressive outside shooting effort.

JP Erram scored a career-high 23 points for the Elite, more than holding his own against the 6-foot-10 Fajardo. Mike Cortez 15 points and Bam-Bam Gamalinda 14.