BINAN, Laguna — Gilas Pilipinas stalwarts Jayson Castro and Jimmy Alapag led Talk ‘N Text’s furious start as the Tropang Texters handed the Barako Bull Energy Cola a 122-106 beating in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Alonte Sports Arena here.
Castro, a Mythical Five member in last year’s FIBA Asia Championship in Manila, scored 14 of his game-high 26 points in the opening quarter. The 5-foot-10 guard capped his solid performance by shooting 4-of-9 from three-point territory.
The veteran guard Alapag finished with 14 points as he made 4-of-5 from the three-point area.
The victory put Talk ‘N Text in a tie for fourth and fifth places with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel with similar 5-3 cards.
Protecting a 13-12 lead midway in the first period, TNT unleashed a 27-8 run to rip the game wide open and settled for a 40-20 advantage.
TNT continued its assault in the second frame and took its biggest lead at 31 points, 54-23, with 8:38 left in the period.
TNT drilled in a total of 18 three-pointers from 38 attempts, the last of which came from rookie Kevin Alas at the buzzer for the final score.
The win enabled TNT to restore respectability to its status after losing to Globalport last week.
“Naging aggressive lang kami sa offense and we defended lang kaya kami nanalo,” Castro said.
Ranidel de Ocampo and Larry Fonacier, also members of Gilas Pilipinas, added 13 points apiece.
The loss snapped Barako Bull’s two-game winning streak as it dropped to 2-6 card.
In the second game, Grand Slam champion Purefoods Star extended its winning streak to three games as it edged Meralco, 77-74.
Scores:
TALK N’ TEXT 122 – Castro 26, Alapag 14, de Ocampo 13, Fonacier 13, Aban 10, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Ro. Reyes 9, Washington 8, Alas 7, Carey 6, Ry. Reyes 5, Seigle 2, Aguilar 0, Espiritu 0.
BARAKO BULL 106 – Hubalde 19, Intal 16, Lanete 16, Miranda 12, Pennisi 11, Marcelo 9, Lastimosa 7, Pascual 7, Wilson 7, Garcia 2, Salvador 0, Salva 0.
Quarters: 40-20, 73-48, 97-79, 122-106.