Texters disconnect Express, top elims

MANILA, Philippines - Pacesetter Talk n Text, as expected, disposed of winless tail-ender Air21, 145-116, and thus emerged the best team in the elimination phase of the PBA Governors Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Tropang Texters utterly dominated the Express and closed out their elims stint with a 6-2 win-loss card, a full game in front of the Petron Blaze Boosters (5-3), the Alaska Milk Aces (5-3) and either the Barangay Ginebra Kings (4-3) or the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-3).

Completing the semifinals cast is B-Meg which is carrying over a 4-4 slate.

“Six-two is not a bad place to finish but it’s not going to mean anything if we don’t do a good job in the semis,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

 “Hopefully, we do a better job in the semis. I’m sure all the teams are going to come out hard that we need to be sure we’re on top of our game,” Reyes added.

Powerade, Meralco and Air21 are out.

The Express had a forgettable Governors Cup stint, becoming the first PBA team in over a decade not to win a single game in a tourney.

Worse, they lost all their games by a big margin, except against an import-less Barangay Ginebra side.

Talk n Text, on a mission to complete a grand slam season, hardly gave Air21 a chance, pulling away right in the first half.

For all intents and purposes, the game was over after the third quarter with the Texters sitting on a 114-85 cushion.

Still, the Texters never slowed down, winding up with the biggest output by a team in a game in four years.

Reserve forward Mark Yee fired 20 points to lead seven Talk n Text players who finished in double figures in what also became the highest-scoring game at least this season.

Ryan Reyes, Ali Peek, Kelly Williams, Larry Fonacier and Maurice Baker had had at least 10 points in the first three quarter.

The Texters scored the game’s first eight points and went on to dominate the Express to the finish.