(From PBA)
Denham Brown, a Seattle SuperSonic draftee who once tossed in 111 points in a game during high school, struggled for only 25 and missed crucial shots in his Barangay Ginebra debut.
He muffed a short jumper and two free throws at the finish as the Kings failed to complete a rally, allowing the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters to continue their amazing romp.
The Tropang Texters kept their franchise-record run going and closed in on an outright semifinal entry as it got back at the Kings, 92-84, in a PBA Fiesta Conference Phoenix Fuel On Tour game at the Batangas City Sports Center here Saturday night.
The hottest team in the conference, Talk 'N Text thus nailed down an 11th straight victory, moving it two wins shy – for now -- of an outright Final 4 berth.
Jimmy Alapag outhustled and outplayed his Barangay Ginebra counterparts, coming through with 21 points and seven rebounds as Talk ‘N Text avenged a 90-97 loss to the Kings in their conference debuts and in the process gained the solo lead in the standings at 12-2.
The Kings, missing key players Eric Menk and Ronald Tubid and worse drawing only a combined six points from guards Willie Miller, Celino Cruz and Jayjay Helterband, suffered a second straight loss and slid from joint third to fifth place at 8-6.
Rain or Shine, running sixth with a 6-6 slate, looks to draw closer as it plays Sta. Lucia Realty in the 4 p.m. first game at the resumption of action at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
San Miguel Beer seeks to regain a piece of the lead while B-MEG Derby Ace goes for solo third as they slug it out in the 6:30 p.m. second game.
Macmac Cardona, Harvey Carey and Ranidel de Ocampo also churned out double-digit outputs for Talk 'N Text, which hauled down a season-high 74 rebounds.
Brown and the Kings struggled playing minus Menk and Tubid. The former was nursing an injury while the latter served a one-game suspension for his flagrant foul-penalty 2 in their previous game, an 84-83 loss to Rain or Shine last Sunday.
Sunday Salvacion, playing extended minutes in the absence of Tubid, put in nine points including back-to-back three-pointers that brought Barangay Ginebra back into the game at 84-86 with 1:02 left to play.
Talk ‘N Text, however, eased the pressure as Ryan Reyes and Alapag made two free throws each.
The Tropang Texters took control most of the way leading by as many as 15 points twice at 37-22 and 57-42. (SB)
The scores:
Talk ‘N Text 92 - Alapag 21, Cardona 15, Carey 14, De Ocampo 13, Daniels 9, Reyes 8, Dillinger 6, Castro 3, Williams 3.
Barangay Ginebra 84 - Brown 25, Caguioa 15, Hatfield 12, Salvacion 9, Miller 6, De Ocampo 6, Villanueva 5, Wilson 4, Intal 2, Cruz 0, Helterbrand 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 45-37, 67-60, 92-84
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