Philippine Sports News and Updates

Talk ‘N Text endured Rain or Shine’s big endgame rally and Gabe Norwood’s last second missed attempt to escape with a chilling 99-96 victory Friday night in the KFC-PBA Fiesta Cup.

The Tropang Texters held a 97-90 lead entering the final two minutes of play, but went 2-of-6 from the foul line the rest of the way that allowed the Elasto Painters to rally back and threatened in the last five seconds, 99-96.

But Norwood, who nailed a pressure-packed three-pointer in Rain or Shine’s previous play, missed a potential game-tying trey, his shot way off line as the final buzzer sounded.

The Texters finally barged into the win column following a 97-90 loss to Barangay Ginebra in the opener, but the win was not enough to bring a smile on coach Chot Reyes’ face.

"This is a very disappointing win. We can't seal the deal and we were just lucky that Gabe Norwood missed that shot," he said of the Elasto Painters’ last second play.

Ranidel De Ocampo finished with 20 points on a spectacular 7-of-8 field goal shooting and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. He had 10 in the fourth period when he conspired with Mac Mac Cardona in a telling run that put the Tropang Texters in control for good.

Cardona scored half of his 14 points during that stretch as he converted a basket on a fastbreak, made a lay-up after a superb cut, knocked in a triple before dishing off his only assist for the game to Mark Yee underneath, enabling the Tropang Texters to break out of an 86-86 standoff to seize a 97-90 margin with 2:20 left in the game.

Jason Castro had a chance to seal the win for the Tropang Texters after Norwood hit a three-pointer in the right flank for a 98-96 count with 6.8 seconds, but the guard out of Philippine Christian University could only split his charities that opened the door for a possible game-tying basket for Rain or Shine.

Jay-R Reyes scored a personal season-high 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, while Jai Lewis collected 17 points and 20 rebounds in a losing debut for the Elasto Painters.

Talk ‘N Text actually trailed by as many as 60-51, but Jimmy Alapag scored 9 points in a 22-4 blast as the Texters claimed their own biggest lead of the game at 73-64 with 1:02 left in the third period.

Alapag ended up with 19 points and six assists, while Castro had 15 points and Shawn Daniels added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Tropang Texters.

• GMANews.TV
• Philippine Sports Central