Texters rip Beermen, book seat in semifinal

MANILA, Philippines - Talk n Text withstood a brave challenge by an import-less San Miguel side, squeezing out an 85-82 win that assured the Texters of an outright semifinal entry in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Victorias City Sports and Amusement Center in Negros Occidental last night.

Jimmy Alapag canned in four crucial free throws in the closing seconds, in a close shave that stretched the Texters’ amazing streak to 13 games.

The Texters clinched an outright shot at the best-of-seven title playoff as they jacked up their overall win-loss record to 14-2 after avenging a 106-112 overtime loss to the Beermen in their previous tiff.

It’s Talk n Text’s last loss before going undefeated for nearly 10 weeks now.

Ranidel de Ocampo put in a solid all-around job with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists with Alapag, Harvey Carey, Jarred Dillinger and Kelly Washington contributing double-digit outputs as TnT dealt SMB a second straight loss and its third in its last four games.

San Miguel, with an 11-4 card, was relegated to the fight for the second outright semis berth with B-MEG Derby Ace (10-5), Alaska (9-6) and Barangay Ginebra (9-6).

But despite playing sans import Gabe Freeman, San Miguel fiercely challenged TnT.

With Freeman left in Manila nursing a fever, Danny Seigle and Jay Washington carried the bulk of the fight for the Beermen as they nearly snapped the Texters’ franchise-record run.

They seized control in the third quarter and engaged the Texters in a furious battle up to the finish.

San Miguel even had a chance to go ahead in the closing seconds but Alex Cabagnot was called for an offensive foul on Dillinger in an inbound play.

Alapag took care of things for the Texters in the closing seconds, going 4-of-4 from the stripe to cap his 15-point game.

Earlier, TnT appeared to have put the game away, 81-75, when Seigle came through with a crucial five-point binge to bring SMB back in the thick of things, 80-81, with 42.8 seconds to go.

The Beermen got the chance to grab the lead as Alapag missed two shots in the ensuing play.

Alas, Cabagnot shoved Dillinger while positioning himself to get the inbound, committing an offensive foul in the process.

The scores:

Talk n Text 85 - De Ocampo 17, Alapag 15, Carey 15, Dillinger 12, Williams 10, Cardona 5, Daniels 4, Yee 3, Reyes 2, Castro 2.

San Miguel 82 - Seigle 21, Washington 16, Santos 11, Cabganot 7, Yeo 7, Hontiveros 7, Villanueva 6, Ildefonso 5, Pena 2, Miranda 0, Pennisi 0.

Quarterscores: 20-20, 42-36, 61-63, 85-82