Talk N Text's win over ElastoPainters Setup a Race to the Finals

Import Paul Harris led Tropang Texter's scoring for a Key Win

        TALK 'N Text drew a second straight monster game from Paul Harris to exact a 98-90 revenge win over Rain or Shine Monday and keep alive its hopes of making the PBA Governors Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

       Harris delivered 34 points on top of 16 rebounds and five assists and had plenty of help in the endgame as the Tropang Texters set themselves up for another do-or-die game against Barangay Ginebra Wednesday. The victor of that match between teams with identical 8-5 slates emerges with its fourth win in five semifinal games and plays off for the second championship berth by virtue of the 4-of-5 incentive. That explains why TNT coach Chot Reyes said there's going to be no celebration within their camp. Not just yet. "All we did tonight was to buy us a little bit more time," said Reyes. "Our situation hasn't changed. We'd like to be happy, but unfortunately we cannot afford to be happy because there's gonna be a very very big game on Wednesday." Harris scattered a new personal conference-best just three days after posting 31 in a 103-94 victory over Petron Blaze. But this one is definitely bigger not only in terms of points and satisfaction of avenging a 90-92 loss to Rain or Shine in their lone eliminations meeting. "Harris doesn't want to go home. He doesn't want it to end," said Reyes. "Sometimes I can be really hard on him and he just continues playing. That's why he's here." It was the third loss in four games for Rain or Shine, but all is not lost for the Elasto Painters. 

 
     The eliminations topnotcher tackles B-Meg also on Wednesday with the winner taking the first finals slot and the loser facing the winner of the TNT-Ginebra duel on Wednesday in a do-or-die game on Friday. The E-Painters could only kick themselves for letting a golden chance to make it outright to their first-ever finals slip away after ruining a good start by listless plays in the remainder of the first half. And when coach Yeng Guiao's charges flashed some of their old fiery form, they could not push a gallant fightback from an 18-point deficit towards home. Jamelle Cornley capped a 27-point, nine-rebound performance with a short stab off his own looseball recovery to make it 90-94, still 2:18 left. That proved to be Rain or Shine's last gasp, however, as it flubbed its last five offensive thrusts, including a missed undergoal stab and a turnover by Cornley himself against TNT's swarming defense. "Kelly (Williams) and Ali (Peek) came out big defensively in the end," noted Reyes. "When we needed crucial stops, we found those stops." While the E-Painters floundered, the Texters rose as Jimmy Alapag converted an off-balanced scoop and Peek canned two charities off Cornley's foul, the last pegging the final score with only 21.5 ticks left. Ranidel de Ocampo could only tally three points in the second half but still wound up with 17 while Alapag wound up with 10 to go with six feeds. Jeff Chan, JR Quinahan, Paul Lee and Beau Belga each had at least 11 points but, like Cornley, couldn't buy the ones that mattered most in the end. Most of the fourth quarter was marked by ugly sequences from the protagonists. But the more seasoned Texters put to naught the E-Painters' efforts that put the latter tantalizingly within 83-86. Rain or Shine failed to buy a single triple despite six tries in the first half. But when the E-Painters started making them in the third period, not even a 62-44 bulge proved safe enough for TNT. It was Cornley who broke the ice with a long straightaway, Chan followed suit a little later and Belga canned two during a 20-3 attack that made it just a 64-65 game, still 5:32 left in the quarter. Quinahan also had a triple and Cornley a fastbreak dunk that tied it all up at 77 before De Ocampo's corner three assured the Texters of an 80-79 edge going into the final canto. Cornley only scored a personal conference-low 13 points in an 86-95 loss to Barangay Ginebra last Friday, but already had 16 at the half. Alas, he was the lone bright spot for Rain or Shine at that point. 

  
      Talk 'N Text unveiled a more balanced scoring, led by Harris' 19 and De Ocampo's 14, that propped its charge to a 57-44 lead at the break. The difference actually got stretched to 50-33, off De Ocampo's face-up jumper, with 4:29 left at the half before the E-Painters mustered a Chan-led mini-charge that cut the deficit to 42-52. Then Harris took over. He turned a turnover into a three-point play and translated his own block on Cornley into a two-handed fastbreak dunk for a 57-42 spread that just got trimmed by Lee's buzzer-beating floater. The tone was set right in the opening quarter, which TNT took via a 30-21 count through the 10 points each by Harris and De Ocampo. Ironically, the surge came following an early timeout which Reyes called after they found themselves trailing by 2-7. Since then, TNT went on a 24-5 tear which had De Ocampo scoring eight points off a perfect 3-for-3 from the field,including two treys, and Harris adding six. 

The scores: 

TALK N' TEXT 98 - Harris 34, De Ocampo 17, Alapag 10, Fonacier 9, Castro 8, Williams 6, Peek 6, Aguilar 5, Aban 3, Raymundo 0, Reyes 0. 

RAIN OR SHINE 90 - Cornley 27, Chan 15, Quinahan 14, Lee 13, Belga 11, Norwood 6, Buenafe 4, Matias 0, Tang 0, Arana 0, Ibanes 0. Quarters: 30-21, 57-44, 80-79, 98-90