Ali at his peak in Texters victory

MANILA, Philippines - Talk N’ Text leaned on key plays by Ali Peek on both ends of the court as it turned back upset-conscious Coca-Cola, 107-104, last night and moved up to solo fourth in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Lagao Gym here in General Santos.

The bull-strong Peek sank four free throws and made a key defensive gem all in the final 30.7 seconds to save the day for the Tropang Texters, who nailed down their seventh win in 11 games to break out of a tie with Purefoods.

It also soothed the pain of a 93-95 loss to Rain or Shine last Wednesday when they blew a 20-point lead.

After Dennis Espino followed up on his own miss to give the Tigers a 104-103 lead with half a minute remaining, Peek responded by drawing the sixth and last foul of Espino, and hitting the go-ahead free throws.

Peek then blocked an Alex Cabagnot lay-up, plucked the loose ball and drew a foul from the latter. He drained two more free throws to seal the win.

Wesley Gonzales and Espino hit free throws that helped the Tigers cut their deficit to within three points, 99-96, while forcing Talk N’ Text coach to sue for time.

Four charities by Mark Macapagal enabled Coke to inch closer, 102-103, with a little over two minutes left in the match.

A Macapagal triple highlighted a rally that shoved Coke back in contention, 88-92, with over eight minutes remaining. But Jason Castro responded by canning a triple in a 5-0 exchange for a 97-90 Talk N’ Text lead.

Meanwhile, Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods Tender Juicy, two teams in hot chase of the front runners, clash at the resumption of play at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The Kings and the Giants mix it up at 6:30 p.m. both riding the momentum of a two-game streak.

The Burger King Whoppers and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters square off earlier at 4 p.m., disputing solo seventh place.

The Elasto Painters caught up with the Whoppers Wednesday as the former nipped the Tropang Texters, 95-93, for their third win in their last four games.

Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia is hopeful they can sustain the momentum of their romp and contend for an outright slot in the quarterfinal round.

The Kings and the Giants have also won their last two games, thus, fortifying their standings in the upper half of the chart.