Pals keep poise, hack close win over Dragons

Talk n Text lost its cool but not its composure last night, holding on to beat stubborn Welcoat, 99-96, and move to a share of fourth with Magnolia in the Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome.

Mark Cardona and Harvey Carey were ejected for attacking Jojo Tangkay in the third quarter while Jay Washington, another big man, fouled out midway in the fourth period.

But thanks to Jimmy Alapag, Ren Ren Ritualo and Yancy de Ocampo, the Phone Pals hung on for their second straight victory and seventh in 13 games overall.

In the other game, Sta. Lucia held Red Bull to its conference low output as it hammered out a 104-78 rout to tie Magnolia and Talk n Text at fourth with 7-6 (win-loss) slates.

It was the Bulls’ fifth setback against eight wins.

“He (Cardona) said sorry, but I told him to control his emotion because we’re not just thinking of this game but also our games ahead,” said Talk n Text coach Derek Pumaren.

Cardona gave Tangkay a hard foul as the Welcoat guard drove to the basket. During the commotion, the Talk n Text forward hit Tangkay once more, and Carey joined the fray by pushing their opponent to the ground.

The two Talk N Text players were ejected and now face stiff fines, or even suspensions for their actions. Tangkay was awarded six free throws for the foul and two technical fouls, missing only once.

With Cardona, Carey and Washington out, the Dragons cut a 46-62 deficit in the third quarter to just a 93-96 with 58.1 seconds to go.

But de Ocampo, who was saddled with fouls the whole game, snared a rebound off a missed Ritualo triple and another one off Felix Belano’s botched lay-up for a putback that doused cold water on the Dragons’ late fight back.

“I’m proud of my players. They showed character and they refused to lose,” said Pumaren.

Nic Belasco, who buried the game-winning triple in a 125-123 overtime win over Talk N’ Text last Nov. 11, paced Welcoat with 20 points.

But Belasco was never a factor in the stretch as the Dragons fell to their sixth straight setback and 10th against only three triumphs.

The Pals jumped the gun on the Dragons early and comfortably posted double-digit leads with the biggest

at 64-45, midway in the third period.Quarterscores: 23-19; 47-36; 77-65; 99-96