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No walkout as Ginebra Kings dethrone Texters

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:51:46 -0600

Barangay Ginebra dethroned Talk 'N Text fair and square Sunday night, 113-100, to advance into the semifinals of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

JC Intal pumped in a career-high 28 points, including 16 in the opening half, while adding 10 rebounds in the Game 5 win that clinched for the Kings the controversy-marred quarterfinals series, 3-2.

Waiting for the league's crowd darling at the other end is top seed Alaska Aces. Game 1 of their best-of-seven semis begins on Wednesday.

Ronald Tubid finally played his best game of the series with 16 points, so did Eric Menk, while Willy Wilson had 14 and Celino Cruz and Enrico Villanueva finished with 13 and 10, respectively for the Kings, who were in control of the sudden-death game majority of the way.

The Kings also became the latest team to climb back from an 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five duel, sweeping the last three games of the series, including a 27-20 win in Game 4, which the deposed champions forfeited after walking out of the game with one minute left in the first period owing to what they perceived were biased officiating in favor of Ginebra.

Officiating was never an issue in the decisive game as Intal and Tubid came out smoking for the Kings, who raced to an early eight-point lead before settling for a 55-49 edge at the half.

Then came the big third quarter rip-off.

Cardona topscored for the Tropang Texters with 21 points - half of them in the first half - while Jason Castro and Jimmy Alapag added 18 apiece.

Talk 'N Text had no. 33 printed on their playing shirt in honor of suspended teammate Ranidel de Ocampo. The 6-foot-7 shooting forward out of St. Francis was meted a one-game suspension by the league for committing a flagrant foul 2 on Tubid in Game 4, the controversial call that eventually sparked the Tropang Texters' decision to walk out of the game. -GMANews.TV

Scores

Brgy. Ginebra 113 - Intal 28, Tubid 16, Menk 16, Wilson 14, Cruz 13, Villanueva 10, Salvacion 8, Baguio 3, Helterbrand 3, Caguioa 2.

Talk 'N Text 100 - Cardona 21, Castro 18, Alapag 18, Dillinger 17, Peek 9, Carey 8, Ritualo 5, De Ocampo Y. 4, Belasco 0.

Quarterscores: 30-22, 55-49, 88-79, 113-100.

Giants finish off Painters, set semis duel with SMB

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:44:34 -0600

Purefoods finally ended Rain or Shine's Cinderella story in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

James Yap scored a game-high 28 points and Marc Pingris grabbed 16 rebounds, made 14 points, and provided the hustle and heart the Giants needed in disposing of the young Elasto Painters, 95-85, and winning the decisive game of their best-of-five quarterfinals series Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Giants next face no. 2 seed San Miguel Beermen in the best-of-seven semifinals beginning Wednesday.

"It's a great relief to finally beat Rain or Shine," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio. "People thought this series was a breeze for us. But they (Painters) are quicker and younger than us, and at times in the series had bigger hearts than us. But not in tonight's game."

"I always felt that Rain or Shine is really, really a hard match-up for us," said Gregorio. "At least we finally made it to the Final Four."

James Yap sparked Purefoods offense in the third period, scoring 13 markers that helped Purefoods pad a three-point lead at the half to 80-64 in the dying seconds of the quarter.

The Elasto Painters never recovered from there as the closest they got was at 91-85.

James Yap then had a short basket and Raymundo hit a pair of free throws to push the Giants at 95-85 with only 1:37 remaining.

Sol Mercado scattered 23 points and Gabe Norwood had 20 for the Elasto Painters. - GMANews.TV

Scores

Purefoods 95 - Yap J. 28, Raymundo 16, Yap R. 16, Pingris 14, Reavis 9, Maierhofer 4, Allado 4, Artadi 2, Simon 2, Canaleta 0.

Rain or Shine 85 - Mercado 23, Norwood 20, Reyes 9, Chan 8, Arana 7, Cruz 6, Laure 6, Telan 4, Tang 2, Arellano 0, Hrabak 0.

Quarterscores: 25-26, 50-47, 80-66, 95-85.

Rain or Shine survives PF rally, forces Game 5

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:58:02 -0600

Eddie Laure redeemed himself from a big Game Two booboo as he emerged Rain or Shine's savior in surviving a fourth knockout game in two weeks, forcing a sudden death with Purefoods in their KFC PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals showdown.

Before a huge Friday crowd at the Araneta Coliseum, Laure nailed a trey coming off the bench in the final minute then the Elasto Painters made crucial defensive stops as they topped the Giants, 103-100, for the second straight game, thus, extending their battle to a deciding Game Five Sunday.

The series should have been over now if not for Laure's costly foul sending James Yap for the winning free throws with six-tenths of a second left in Game Two.

"Bumawi," said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia of Laure who knocked in the triple giving the Elasto Painters back the lead just after the Giants erased a 20-point deficit and surged ahead at 100-98. In the ensuing plays, Gabe Norwood blocked a shot by James Yap then forced Roger Yap to an error in two defensive gems helping Rain or Shine clinch the win that forced a two-game-all standoff in the best-of-five series.

"Once again, we came out to compete. We blew away a 20-point lead but credit to the players, they didn't give up and showed composure at crunch time," said Garcia.

"Hopefully, makalusot uli sa Sunday. Purefoods has the edge in experience and talent because they've been here before and they're loaded with talents. But if we're able to compete, I think we can pull off an upset," Garcia also said.

The Elasto Painters continued to fight with grit and determination as they overcame Kerby Raymundo's big return from a one-game layoff. The versatile 6-foot-6 forward exploded for 34 points, including three three-pointers that helped fuel Purefoods' searing rally in the fourth quarter.

As Raymundo scored his final basket in the night, the Giants tied the game for the first time at 98-all with 1:51 left to play. Purefoods then grabbed the lead at 100-98 as Roger Yap eluded Sol Mercado for a layup. Just when everybody in the venue thought they'd seen the last of Rain or Shine, Laure came off the bench and buoyed the Elasto Painters' spirit in drilling in a trey.

Laure, the skipper of the team, was 1-of-4 from the field when he returned to the floor at the finish. Mercado and Norwood once again delivered big numbers with the former putting in 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds and the latter logging in 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ryan Arana, Jervy Cruz and JayR Reyes were three other Elasto Painters who finished in double figures.

Raymundo tallied 34 points, seven rebounds and five assists but Purefoods' other star in James Yap struggled for only eight points.

"It was a key factor that we're able to limit James' production," said Garcia. (SB) - www.pba.ph

Scores:

Rain or Shine 103 - Mercado 24, Norwood 20, Arana 11, Cruz 10, Reyes 10, Hrabak 9, Telan 7, Laure 6, Chan 4, Tang 2, Ibanes 0.

Purefoods 100 - Raymundo 34, Pingris 20, Yap R. 19, Reavis 10, Yap J. 8, Canaleta 5, Salvador 3, Artadi 1, Timberlake 0, Simon 0, Adducul 0, Allado 0.

Quarterscores: 31-15, 50-39, 85-68, 103-100

Talk ‘N Text walks out of q'final game vs Ginebra

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:38:01 -0600

An unexpected twist happened in Game 4 of the Talk ‘N Text-Ginebra quarterfinal match Friday after the Tropang Texters of coach Chot Reyes walked out in the game citing unfair officiating.

The Gin Kings were holding on to a 27-20 lead with exactly one minute left when Ranidel De Ocampo committed a flagrant foul against a driving Ronald Tubid.

Texters coach Reyes was the one who ordered his players and coaching staff to leave the bench and go straight to the dugout.

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) officials gave Talk ‘N Text five minutes to return on the playing court but the time expired with no Texters player getting out of their dugout.

It is not yet known how much fine would the PBA commissioners office would impose to the Texters.

With TNT forfeiting the match, the win was awarded to Ginebra that tied the best-of-five series to two games apiece.

Talk ‘N Text won the first two games, 107-92 and 106-105, while Ginebra scored a 102-97 victory last Wednesday to keep their semis hopes alive.

The deciding Game 5 will be played Sunday with the winner moving on to face Alaska in the best-of-seven semis series.

Ironically, Ginebra also walked out during its 1991 first conference finals against Shell where they were fined P500,000. - GMANews.TV

Watch the video below:

Menk saves the Kings

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:27:35 -0600

Barangay Ginebra also stayed alive in their own best-of-5 quarterfinal series after pulling off a scary 102-97 victory over Talk ‘N Text in Game 3 to cut the latter's lead to 2-1.

JC Intal led the Kings anew with 25 points and 10 rebounds but it was the steady game of Eric Menk that helped the Kings to weather the late-game run of the defending champion.

"I'm glad we're able to get through this game and hope to win another one on Friday to force another game on Sunday," said Ginebra head coach Jong Uichico who got 20 points from Menk including a pair of free throws in the closing seconds that sealed the win for the Kings.

Ginebra was comfortably ahead at 99-91 when the Tropang Texters, behind Jimmy Alapag, cut the lead to 97-99 with 1:22 remaining.

Ronald Tubid halved his free throws to give the Kings a 100-97 cushion.

Alapag had the chance to tie the count but his triple was way off the mark but the Texters were given another chance to level the score when Tubid missed his 3-point attempt in the next play.

Renren Ritualo and Alapag had chances to send the game in overtime but their 3-point attempts failed to hit the mark and Menk collared a crucial board that led to two free throws to peg the final score.

Mark Cardona led seven Tropang Texters in double figures with 18 points. TNT gets another crack to close out the series with a win on Friday at 5 p.m. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 102 - Intal 25, Menk 20, Cruz 11, Wilson 9, Caguioa 9, Helterbrand 9, Baguio 8, Villanueva 5, Tubid 4, Salvacion 2, White 0.

Talk 'N Text 97 - Cardona 18, De Ocampo R. 17, Alapag 16, Peek 12, Dillinger 10, Castro 10, Carey 10, De Ocampo Y. 2, Belasco 2, Escobal 0, De Guzman 0, Ritualo 0.

Quarterscores: 26-23; 56-43; 79-8; 102-97

Rain or Shine stays alive

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:23:11 -0600

No more end-game collapse for Rain or Shine this time.

Gabe Norwood threw down a missed drive by Jeff Chan to secure a 95-93 win over Purefoods Tender Juicy in Game 3 to stay alive in their best-of-5 quarterfinal series of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Norwood's putback slam denied the Giants of a possible comeback and a 3-0 sweep of the series.

The Elasto Painters try to level the series with a win Friday in Game 4 also at the Big Dome.

"I'm just at the right place at the right," said Norwood of his crucial basket that halted the Giants' 6-0 run for a 95-90 lead with 4.6 seconds left.

Chan scored all but two of his 17 points in the second half, highlighted by 5-of-11 shooting from the 3-point zone that helped Rain or Shine regain the momentum after being down by 11, 59-70, late in the third quarter.

Trailing 68-72 after the first three quarters, Chan had 12 in the Elasto Painters' 17-5 exchange at the start of the final period and took an 85-77 lead with 5:25 left in the game.

They stretched their advantage to 11, 91-80, and were still holding a 93-84 lead with under three minutes in the contest.

But Purefoods, which took the first 2 games of the series via come-from-behind fashions, scored the next 6 points capped by Rafi Reavis's 3-point play to threaten at 90-93 with 27.3 seconds left.

Rain or Shine melted precious seconds in their last possession before Chan drove hard at the baseline but his lay-up rimmed out and Norwood collared the offensive board and dunked the leather to seal the victory.

"I just told the players we have to compete every game and not look at the standings because I still believe we're playing good basketball," said Elasto Painter head coach Caloy Garcia who also drew 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists from Norwood.

"Whether Purefoods still play with Rico (Maierhofer) and Kerby (Raymundo), I think we can still compete," he added.

The Giants mentor Ryan Gregorio failed to utilize Maierhofer and Raymundo due to injuries. Peter June Simon also did not play.

Nino Canaleta led Purefoods with 18 points while James Yap, the hero in the team's 95-94 win in Game 2, and Roger Yap added 17 markers apiece. James Yap was 0-of-8 from the three-point area.

Paul Artadi contributed 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals but had 7 of the team's 19 turnovers. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Rain or Shine 95 - Chan 17, Norwod 16, Hrabak 15, Mercado 11, Tang 10, Arana 8, Laure 7, Telan 5, Cruz 4, Reyes 2, Ibanes 0.

Purefoods 92 - Canaleta 18, Yap J. 17, Yap R. 17, Artadi 14, Reavis 13, Pingris 9, Fernandez 2, Adducul 1, Allado 1, Timberlake 0, Salvador 0.

Quarterscores: 29-25, 50-49, 68-72, 95-92.

Giants also in 2-0 lead

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 10:39:57 -0600

Purefoods Tender Juicy also came back from 20 points and James Yap hit his first two free throws out of three attempts with less than a second left to come away to pull off a 95-94 escape over Rain or Shine in Game 2 of their own best-of-5 quarterfinal series.

Jeff Chan put the Elasto Painters to a 94-93 with a twisting drive over Rafi Reavis with 8.5 seconds left.

But Yap, who was way behind the rainbow line, drew a foul from Eddie Laure with 0.6 ticks remaining.

Yap hit the first two and intentionally missed the last one as the Giants escaped with the victory and move to a victory away of meeting San Miguel Beer in the best-of-7 semifinal series.

James Yap led Puerfoods with 23 points while Roger Rap added 22.

Sol Mercado paced Rain or Shine with 26 markers. Gabe Norwood contributed 22 points and 16 rebounds for coach Caloy Garcia. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Purefoods 95 - Yap J. 23, Yap R. 22, Maierhofer 14, Raymundo 11, Artadi 10, Canaleta 9, Reavis 6, Timberlake 0, Pingris 0, Alaldo 0.

Rain or Shine 94 - Mercado 26, Norwood 22, Chan 19, Hrabak 12, Reyes 7, Arana 5, Laure 3, Arellano 0, Ibanes 0, Telan 0.

Quarterscores: 17-26; 41-52; 71-76; 95-94

Tropang Texters seize 2-0 lead vs Ginebra

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:15:14 -0600

Jared Dillinger scored on a perfectly executed alley-oop play in the closing seconds, capping a big Talk `N Text comeback from 18 points down in a pulsating 106-105 win over Barangay Ginebra Sunday in Game 2 of their KFC-PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals series at the Araneta Coliseum.

Trailing, 104-105, in the final 3.3 seconds, the Tropang Texters came off a timeout looking for an eye-in-the-sky play, which Ranidel de Ocampo made happen with a right-on-target pass to an airborne Dillinger.

"I wanted to dunk the ball," said Dillinger later. "I wanted it to be safe."

The win gave the defending champions a 2-0 lead over the league's crowd darling, and could complete a three-game sweep of the best-of-five series with another victory on Wednesday also at the Big Dome.

"That's the way basketball is. Coach Siot (Tanquingcen) did it to (coach) Tim (Cone), Tim did it to me. We copied the same kind of movement when we needed it. You learn from the others," said Tropang Texters coach Chot Reyes, referring to the same winning plays pulled off by San Miguel over Alaska last Dec. 9 and by the Aces later against the Tropang Texters themselves.

The Kings had 2.4 seconds left to go for a game-winning play, but without a timeout left, failed to make a decent shot as Celino Cruz's desperation attempt at halfcourt didn't even make its mark at the buzzer.

"Closing this (series) is the toughest," said Reyes. "It has been two very tough games, and it will be 10 times tougher the next."

Jason Castro scored 19 points to lead six other Texters with double-figure outputs. Harvey Carey had 17, Ranidel de Ocampo 16 (plus 13 rebounds), Dillinger 14, Alapag 13, Mac-Mac Cardona 11 and Ali Peek 10.

JC Intal led Ginebra with 23 points, hitting a pair of crucial three-point shots in the final 2:39. But he could only split his free throws in the final 3.3 seconds to make it 105-104, and opened the way for that big winning play by Talk `N Text.

Ronald Tubid rebounded from a two-point effort in Game 1 with 20 points this time, while Willie Wilson added 15 points for Ginebra, which led by 65-47 in the third quarter and played without Jay-Jay Helterbrand (hamstring injury).

Far from the abysmal effort it exerted in the first two quarters of Game 1, Ginebra led by as large as 57-40 on a split by Enrico Villanueva. Overall, though, it was the combined performances of Intal and Tubid that carried the Kings.

Intal had 13 points and Tubid 11 in the first half, but the duo struck hardest in the second quarter, outscoring the entire Talk ‘N Text team, 20-19, as Ginebra seized 59-43 lead at the half. - GMANews.TV

The scores:

Talk 'N Text 106 - Castro 19, Carey 17, De Ocampo R. 16, Dillinger 14, Alapag 13, Caradona 11, Peek 10, Belasco 4, De Guzman 1, Ritualo 1, De Ocampo 0.

Brgy. Ginebra 105 - Intal 23, Tubid 20, Wilson 15, White 9, Baguio 9, Villanueva 9, Caguio 9, Menk 9, Cruz 2, Alvarez 0, Slvacion 0.

Quarterscores: 24-27; 43-59; 78-82; 106-105

Texters clobber Kings

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:45:02 -0600

Defending champion Talk ‘N Text withstood Barangay Ginebra's rally in the third quarter and scored a 107-92 to grab a 1-0 lead in their own best-of-five quarterfinal series.

Jason Castro led the Tropang Texters' balanced attack with 20 points in 26 minutes and added 7 rebounds and 4 steals.

Jimmy Alapag chipped in 19 while Harvey Carey contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds for Talk ‘N ext, which led by as much as 22 points in the second quarter before the Kings exploded for 33 points in the third period to get back in the game.

"We knew they will make a run and at halftime, I told the players not to lose our heads," said Tropang Texters head coach Chot Reyes.

"But we also did a good job on their wingmen. When Ginebra made the run in the eliminations, it was because of the trio of JC Intal, Cyrus Baguio and Ronad Tubid. We were able to limit Tubid tonight," he added.

Intal led the Kings with 19 points while Enrico Villanueva added 16. Baguio finished with 12 but Tubid was held down to just 2 on 1-of-8 shooting from the field. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Talk 'N Text 107 - Castro 20, Alapag 19, Carey 13, Cardona 12, Dilinger 11, Peek 10, R. de Ocampo 8, Belasco 6, de Guzman 4, Ritualo 2, Y. de Ocampo 0

Brgy. Ginebra 92- Intal 19, Villanueva 16, Baguio 12, Salvacion 12, Wilson 11, Cruz 10, White 6, Tubid 2, Mamaril 2, Menk 2, Caguioa 0, Abarrientos 0

Quarterscores: 26-20; 57-38; 80-71; 107-92

Purefoods takes game 1 vs Rain or Shine

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 11:41:41 -0600

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants needed a couple of crucial defensive stops in the end to deny Rain or Shine Elasto Painters game 1 of their best-of-5 quarterfinal series in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

James Yap hit a game-high 31 points while Roger Yap preserved the 90-85 win for the Giants with a key deflection of Sol Mercado's pass in the closing seconds.

Roger Yap added 17 points for No. 3 seed Purefoods while Kerby Raymundo chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"We really expected a tough Game 1 because the momentum is on their side," said Giants head coach Ryan Gregorio.

"I told the players that in the end, defense will bail us out. We had key steals and key stops and made crucial free throws that were enough to win Game 1," he added.

Ryan Arana had 19 points for the No. 9 seed Elasto Painters, who had to go through the tough wildcard stage before earning a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Elasto Painters almost pulled off another shocker against the well-rested Giants. They fought them toe-to-toe the whole game, but crucial mistakes down the stretch cost them the series opener.

Purefoods was holding an 85-78 advantage on back-to-back triples by James Yap and Roger Yap with 4:02 left, but Rain or Shine got back in the game with a 7-3 exchange to threaten at 85-88 with 2:08 remaining.

After both teams exchanged empty possessions, the Elasto Painters had the chance to move closer after Raymundo muffed a 12-foot jumper in the previous play.

But Mercado, the hero in Rain or Shine's twin victories in the wildcard stage, committed a crucial error as his pass was deflected by Roger Yap, resulting in a foul by the Elasto Painters guard.

The two players were actually given a technical foul each for taunting after the play.

Roger Yap split his free throws to give the Giants an 89-85 cushion with 28.3 ticks left, and Eddie Laure's three-point attempt was way off the mark to hand Purefoods the win.

"There will be no celebration yet. It takes 3 wins to win the series. I expect Rain or Shine to play its hearts out on Sunday," said Gregorio.

Mercado finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while Laure added 16. Gabe Norwood had a quiet 12-point performance on 5-of-13 shooting from the field. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Purefoods 90 - Yap J. 31, Yap R. 17, Raymundo 12, Maierhofer 9, Pingris 6, Reavis 5, Artadi 4, Canaleta 2, Adducul 2, Allado 2, Timberlake 0.

Rain or Shine 85 - Arana 19, Mercado 17, Laure 16, Norwood 12, Telan 9, Reyes 4, Chan 3, Hrabak 3, Ibanes 2, Cruz 0, Alfad 0, Arellano 0.

Quarterscores: 23-22, 51-48, 73-73, 90-85.