Texters catch rusty Aces flat-footed

MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text made mincemeat of a visibly off-form Alaska Milk team in its tournament debut, fashioning out a lopsided 100-92 win in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome last night.

The Tropang Texters dominated the struggling Aces from start to finish, building double-digit spreads right in the first quarter and enjoying a lead as many as 26 in the second half before completing the rout.

Coach Chot Reyes and his chargers notched their second win against two losses while dealing the Aces their fifth straight defeat dating back to the Philippine Cup finals where they were swept away by the Purefoods TJ Giants.

Playing their first game in nearly five weeks, the Aces appeared rusty and were blown away by the Texters despite a double-double effort of 36 points and 25 rebounds by import Diamon Simpson.

“We wanted to win as we wanted to give our boss something to smile about,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes, dedicating the victory to team owner Manny V. Pangilinan who’s in the news lately for a controversial speech delivered in a commencement exercises.

Alaska coach Tim Cone, on the other hand, said they’re disappointed but hardly discouraged by the setback.

“We put people in new positions, doing new things. So we kind of expected it. But we feel we would get better down the road. I see good things happening in our team. I’m patient,” said Cone.

Sam Eman enjoyed long minutes in his first game as an Alaska Ace but the former San Miguel Beerman struggled for 2-of-6 from the floor and 1-of-4 from the stripe.

“I think it’s the first time Sam got the minutes. He wanted to show something but he’s a little out of control,” said Cone of his new recruit.

Lorenzo Wade played limited minutes due to early fouls but the B-MEG Derby Ace locals rose to the occasion as the Llamados, formerly the Purefoods TJ Giants, opened their Fiesta Conference campaign with an 86-79 win over the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the second game.

The upside was that the 6-foot-8 center gave Alaska an added inside presence, helping the Aces beat the Texters, 61-46, on rebounds.

The Texters, however, used their quickness to offset their height disadvantage, playing up-tempo basketball most of the way to dominate the contest.

Talk n Text produced 23 fastbreak points as against Alaska’s eight. Shawn Daniels had a solid all-round game with 25 points, 15 rebounds, five steals, four assists and three blocks with Mark Cardona, Harvey Carey, Ranidel de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag all adding double-digit outputs.

Alaska started with a tall starting lineup of Simson, Eman, Sonny Thoss, LA Tenorio and Willie Miller and Reyes matched up with Daniels, Cardona, Carey, De Ocampo and Alapag.

“We anticipated their starting lineup that’s why I started with Carey instead Jared Dillinger at No. 3 spot,” said Reyes.

The scores:

First Game

Talk n Text 100 – Daniels 25, Cardona 20, Carey 16, De Ocampo 15, Alapag 10, Dillinger 9, Yee 2, Aban 2, Belasco 1, Castro 0, Quinahan 0.

Alaska 92 – Simpson 36, De Vance 14, Miller 12, Dela Cruz 11, Eman 5, Fonacier 5, Hugnatan 3, Tenorio 2, Thoss 2, Cablay 2.

Quarterscores: 25-12, 48-36, 78-57, 100-92

Second Game

Derby Ace 86 – Wade 20, Cañaleta 18, Yap J. 18, Artadi 10, Yap R. 6, Maierhofer 4, Allado 4, Simon 2, Pingris 2, Reavis 2, Salvador 0.

Sta. Lucia 79 – Johnson 26, Reyes 12, Williams 12, Urbiztondo 7, Espinas 6, Aquino 6, Custodio 4, Misolas 4, Omolon 2, Pacana 0, Mendoza 0.

Quarterscores: 25-21, 43-36, 63-56, 86-79