Talk ’N Text willed its way back in regulation and then held Petron Blaze scoreless in overtime to escape with a 93-85 victory and moved up in the standings of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Import Donnell Harvey posted a career-best 38 points and 17 rebounds in his fourth game since rejoining the club to replace the ineffective Keith Benson as the Tropang Texters improved to a 5-4 record.
Jimmy Alapag forced the game into overtime by hitting a long three with 2.7 seconds left in regulation. He then connived in the extra five-minute period with the 6-foot-10 Harvey, Ranidel de Ocampo and Jayson Castro, whose easy layup settled the final score with 32.8 seconds left.
Petron went 0-for-5 from the field – including missed three-pointer each from Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter – in the extra period as the setback denied the Boosters a chance to get a share of the lead with Alaska (7-2).
The heartbreaking loss sent Petron back into a tie for second with Rain or Shine at 6-3, while TNT gained the solo fourth place in the standings.
Talk ’N Text actually trailed, 85-79, after Alex Cabagnot split his free throws with less than a minute in the fourth. Cabagnot had nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter while Arwind Santos had eight also of 14 markers.
However, TNT charged back when Ranidel de Ocampo buried a three-pointer from the right corner to cut the deficit to three points, 82-85.
After Petron’s Arwind Santos missed both his free throws, and after Castro lost control of the leather off an inbound pass, Talk ’N Text recovered when Harvey forced a jump-ball with Ronald Tubid, which he won to set up Alapag’s three.
In tying the game, the 5-foot-9 Alapag took two dribbles to elude Cabagnot’s defense before he unleashed the booming three-pointer from about 25 feet.
“This is one of the biggest wins in my career. My locals are still struggling, but Jimmy and Jayson came out with big plays in the end,” said coach Norman Black.
