Talk ‘N Text finishes off Alaska to enter PBA Philippine Cup final

Jimmy Alapag played a major part why Talk ‘N Text won the Philippine Cup the last two PBA seasons.
Last night, the one-time MVP who has been slowed down by age and injuries of late, made it sure that he and the rest of the Tropang Texters would be able to have that crack at a historic third straight all-Filipino crown.
The 5-foot-8 point guard hit three triples in a critical span connecting the third and fourth periods and then put the finishing touches on an 83-78 victory over Alaska that put the Texters back in the Finals of the season’s most prestigious tournament.
Alapag finished with 15 points, taking over offensively when the game hung in the balance, and the Texters sealed the win with a brilliant defensive effort in the final four minutes that closed out the series, 4-2.
Up next for the Texters, who are seeking to become the first team since disbanded Crispa to win this event three straight seasons, will be Rain or Shine, which entered the Finals on Thursday also with a similar 4-2 win over San Mig Coffee.
The title series starts Wednesday and it would be a match-up between two of the deepest squads in the league.
Jason Castro scored all of his 16 points in the first three periods for the Texters, who were dragged into a physical, high-octane game by the younger Aces all night.
Calvin Abueva, the super rookie, was the biggest reason why the Aces still had a shot in the endgame, finishing with a career-high 23 points that went with 13 rebounds – his 11th double-double of the conference.
That torrid run where Alapag tossed in three treys had the Texters taking an 80-71 lead from 69-67 made it look like Talk ‘N Text would win it handily.
But JV Casio completed a rare four-point play off Alapag with 3:47 left to cut the disadvantage to five, only for the Aces to fail to score again until the final eight seconds because of Talk ‘N Text’s brilliant defense.
Cyrus Baguio labored hard for the Aces and finished with a conference-low three points in 43 minutes. The creative, high-flying swingman came into the crucial contest averaging a shade over 14 points.
Last night, Baguio was 1-of-9 from the field and 1-of-4 from the stripe, a tribute to how well he was denied the ball all game.
“My first comment is to give some applause to Alaska,” Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black, who made it back to the Finals in the very first tournament of his PBA return, said. “They have grown by leaps and bounds in this conference and they are going to be tough to beat in the future.
“I’m happy for my players, they worked really hard for this,” continued Black, who will be coaching in his 15th title series.
“We now have a chance to win three in a row. That’s the goal ever since the beginning of the conference. I have a very good team and they deserve to be back in the Finals,” he said.
Jared Dillinger, Kelly Williams and Ranidel de Ocampo scored 11 points apiece and combined for 21 rebounds.