MANILA: Despite taking a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with Rain or Shine, Talk 'N Text coach Jong Uichico didn’t look and sound victorious at all.

The multi-titled coach pointed to several defensive lapses, about “giving up too many points” in a 99-92 victory over the Elasto Painters on Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

“I am happy that we won, but I am not satisfied with the way we played,” Uichico said as the Tropang Texters maintained mastery of the Elasto Painters, keeping their enemies winless against them in eight series matches since the 2013 Philippine Cup.

“We played a lot lower in terms of intensity compared to the Purefoods series,” he continued. “We just have to come out ready to play on Friday (in Game 2).”

Ranidel de Ocampo fired 24 points and had some clutch baskets in the end as the Texters extinguished the last of several rallies that the Painters tried coming up with after being buried in a 13-point hole in the second period.

Import Ivan Johnson had a great all around game with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, but put a blackeye in that performance when he ran over Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao late in the third period.

With the score at 70-61 and the Texters in complete command, Johnson, who is at 6-foot-8 and at least 250 pounds, almost ran over Guiao in the sidelines and was lucky to be slapped with just a technical foul.

Uichico later on said that he did not see the play, nor did he take a look at the replay in the venue’s giant screen.

“I asked him if he did it intentionally and he said no,” Uichico said when asked by the media about the incident. “And I have to take his word for it.”

Talk ‘N Text trailed just one, 6-7, early in the first before zooming to a 42-29 lead in the second, never looking back from there as the best that the Painters could do was come to within five a couple of times in the fourth period.

De Ocampo, Jason Castro and Johnson had an answer each time the Painters mounted a run.

Castro, after a sizzling offensive effort in the Purefoods series where he was the hero in the last three games, shot just 14 but had a big triple with 1:26 remaining which made it 96-86.

Guiao, meanwhile, knew immediately what went wrong as his Painters are now 0-8 in a series match up with the Texters after being swept in the 2013 best-of-seven Philippine Cup Finals and in the best-of-five semifinals of this tournament last year.

“We just have to go back to practice tomorrow and try to improve on our free throws,” Guiao said after his wards went 18-for-33, while coughing the ball up a total of 17 times.

To their credit, the Texters missed just five of 26 freebies awarded them and took a lot better care of the ball with just eight boo-boos for the night.

“Had we made more free throws and minimized our turnovers, the game would have been a lot closer,” Guiao said, before saying his piece on the Johnson incident.

“He did it on purpose,” Guiao said of the hard bump he got from Johnson. “It’s up to the league what needs to be done.

“I am not surprised (with what Johnson did),” Guiao went on. “It showed his lack of breeding, his reputation, lack of respect. That’s the reason he’s out of the NBA and he’s playing overseas.”

“I was surprised that he just got a technical. He should have been out of the game,” he went on. “If (one of) my players did that to coach Jong, I wouldn’t know what the penalty might have been.”

Wayne Chism came up with his usual numbers for the Painters – 34 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks – but got very little local help with only Paul Lee finishing in twin digits with 13.

Meanwhile, Sam Daghles, the former Jordan national team star, has signed up to play for the Texters as their Asian import in the season-ending Governors’ Cup, joining hands with Stephon Pettigrew in the conference that opens on May 5.

In a related development, new Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin has submitted 26 names to the PBA from where the new members of the National Five will come from.

Baldwin and the PBA, though, has held making the list public until they talk to all of the league’s team owners for the availability of those in the list.