Realtors down Gilas 5: Texters buck pesky Boosters

ANTIPOLO  , Philippines – Talk n Text overcame fatigue and bucked the loss of a key player and Barako Bull’s gritty stand as the Tropang Texters fashioned out a stirring come-from-behind 93-90 win over the Energy Boosters in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Sports Center here last night.

Playing out-of-sync in the first three quarters, the Tropang Texters put their act together in the final period for the big turnaround as they notched their second win in three days for a 4-2 slate overall.

The Energy Boosters squandered a 15-point lead in the last eight minutes of play as they took the sorry setback that prevented them from hitting the .500 mark anew. They instead slid to 2-4.

Earlier, Joseph Yeo nailed a crucial charity in the closing seconds and Sta. Lucia Realty likewise completed a rally from a 15-point deficit by nipping Smart Gilas, 96-95.

The RP developmental pool has lost four of its first five games in its guest stint in the all-Filipino tourney.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra hopes to stay within striking distance of Alaska Milk as it seeks a fifth victory in six games against Burger King in a Phoenix Fuel PBA road game in Tubod, Lanao del Norte today.

Jimmy Alapag got away with a personal season-high of 25 points and made the biggest plays in a decisive attack the Texters waged to turn back the Energy Boosters.

“It was a tough game. They played so well and we played so bad but our team just kept on fighting,” said Alapag who came through with 10 points in a dizzying 21-to-nothing run TnT unleashed in the payoff period to overcome a 15-point deficit at 82-67.

The prolific TnT guard highlighted his sterling game with back-to-back triples that pushed the Texters ahead to stay at 83-82 with 5:06 left to play.

Barako Bull dominated the contest early on behind an efficient box-in-one defense that had the team limiting Alapag’s possession of the ball.

It was probably due to frustration that prompted Nic Belasco to tackle down a driving Ogie Menor late in the third period, causing the TnT forward early exit from the game.

The Energy Boosters stepped up their game even more after the incident, going to Magnum Membrere, Alex Crisano and Felix Belano as they pulled away at 82-67.

Then came TnT’s huge turnaround that saw the Texters hold the Energy Boosters scoreless in the next five minutes of play.