MANILA: Talk ‘N Text continues to be on a roll.
And Barangay Ginebra, despite trying so hard, still can’t get itself into one.
Jason Castro was big in the endgame for the Tropang Texters last night, keying a 113-111 decision of the Gin Kings that moved Talk ‘N Text closer to a PBA Governors’ Cup playoff slot at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 5-foot-10 Castro scored the Texters’ final six points inside the last 1:22 as Talk ‘N Text almost blew a 13-point lead with just over five minutes left as the never-say-die spirit of the Kings almost pulled them through.
It was the third straight win for the Texters, who started the conference with a 1-3 record and is now in third spot, well inside the magic number of six teams that will advance to the playoffs with still two games left in their schedule.
“We are just looking to get better as a team,” coach Chot Reyes replied when reminded of the winning streak. “We still have two tough games to play (in the elimination round) and our goal is to be better for those games.” Castro finished with 18 points, half of them coming in the fourth period, including a prayer of a running jumper off the glass with 27.6 ticks remaining that made it 111-108.
Ginebra then had a shot at forging a deadlock and gave the ball to the very man that made the endgame close for the Kings.
But Mark Caguioa, who shot 32 points, muffed a tight jumper from the keyhole and it led to Jay-Jay Helterbrand having no other recourse but to give up a duty foul on Castro, who made both charities with 9.7 left to put the game to bed.
It was the fourth loss against as many wins for the Kings, who came into the game as just one of three squads which has yet to win consecutive games in the short tournament.
And Ginebra will have one last shot at nailing an outright playoff berth, playing Barako Bull on Friday even as Talk ‘N Text has two, against B-Meg on Wednesday and league-leading Rain or Shine on Sunday.
The night saw not only Ginebra failing in its bid to reach the playoffs early, after Meralco clamped down hard on Powerade for a 91-78 decision of the Tigers in the first game.
Mario West scored 29 points and helped put the cuffs on leading local scorer Gary David, whom he limited to two fourth quarter points that greatly helped the B-Boys break away in the period.
“I told Mario: ‘Gary is not better than Tyreke (Evans), he’s not better than Dwyane (Wade) and he’s definitely not better than Lebron (James),’” coach Ryan Gregorio tols reporters on how he motivated West for the tough defensive assignment.
“Those are the players he used to guard in the NBA.” And West had a lot of success in shutting down David even as the entire Meralco defense held the usually prolific Tigers to their conference-low output.
“This is a very encouraging sign. With two straight wins, and with the other teams falling down, our destiny still lies in our own hands,” Gregorio said of their playoff chances.
“We knew all along that if we wanted to defeat Powerade, it would be with our lock-down defensive mentality,” Gregorio continued. “We’re proud of the way we defended Powerade, 78 points, this team averages close to a hundred.” Powerade, coming into the game, was the only squad that averaged over 100 points a contest, with its 102.7-point average the best in the conference.
Solomon Mercado sparkled on the offensive end when Meralco needed it the most, shooting all 15 of his points in the fourth period, while Mac Cardona also finished with 15 and Reynel Hugnatan 14.
Meralco also has Barako Bull as its last foe, that match scheduled Sunday.
Texters win third straight by dumping Ginebra
