Old Honeycutt explodes for TnT

Jerald Honeycutt made a grand return to the local pro league last night, displaying his old deadly form to help Talk n Text get out of the rut versus Purefoods at the Philippines Arena.

Honeycutt had a solid all-round performance with 28 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, four blocks and one steal in 53 minutes of action as the Phone Pals checked a two-game skid in the PBA Gran Matador Fiesta Cup with a 100-95 overtime win over the Hotdogs.

The former Milwaukee Buck led all scorers on 6-of-11 shooting from the two-point zone and 4-of-11 clip from the three-point arch and himself clinched the win with a four-point binge and a block on Rey Evangelista in the final minute of the extension play.

"Jerald gave us a lift. With the team at 3-3 (win-loss record) and coming off back-to-back defeats, Jerald’s return was timely," said Talk n Text coach Joel Banal.

"At this point in time, size doesn’t matter for us. What’s more important is familiarity. There’s always the advantage in familiarity," said Banal on their decision to rehire their old import who at 6-foot-5 1/2 could be the smallest among the reinforcements in this tourney.

But in his first game in his fifth tournament in four seasons in the league, the Tulane University product played big, showing up Antonio Smith who appeared to be playing hurt.

Despite Honeycutt’s sterling performance, Talk n Text, however, walked through the tightrope at endgame, unable to finish Purefoods right on regulation on costly turnovers.

A bad pass by Jimmy Alapag to Willie Miller resulted to a turnover with 12.8 seconds left in the clock and the count tied at 87-all, giving Purefoods a chance to wrap it up in the regulation.

The Phone Pals were fortunate Noy Castillo opted to take a trey which missed at the buzzer.

The Phone Pals, who enjoyed a 17-point spread at one point in the first half, seized a four-point advantage at 94-90 in the final minute of the overtime as Honeycutt made two free throws off a foul by June Peter Simon then scored on an uncontested jumper with defender Smith losing his balance and consequently sliding to the floor.

After James yap nailed a charity, Alapag had another passing error that gave the Hotdogs a chance to send the game into a second overtime.

But Rey Evangelista was about to go for a possible game-tying trey when Honeycutt came from behind to swat the ball away from the Purefoods forward.

The Hotdogs eventually suffered their fourth straight defeat and their fifth in eight games on that Honeycutt defensive gem.