TALK N TEXT BOUNCES BACK WITH BIG WIN OVER GINEBRA

Cardona, Alapag, Belano, Ritualo preside over Phone Pals’ offense
Wednesday, 24 October 2007

Talk N Text rose from the depths of despair using its sorry loss the last time out as the driving force against Barangay Ginebra.

"Sinalaula kami ng Purefoods. We’re humiliated. The last two days, we were just talking about the importance of bouncing back. We used the loss as a motivational tool and we came out with boundless energy, intensity and effort," said coach Derrick Pumaren, moments after his team poured their frustrations on the Kings.

Talk N Text’s big men concentrated on defense and let their backcourt take the fore offensively as the Pals drubbed the Kings, 111-102, Wednesday night in the 2007-08 Smart PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Mark Cardona, Jimmy Alapag, Felix Belano and Renren Ritualo each scored at least 13, leading Talk N Text to its second win in three starts.

"We’re a big team but we can no longer produce points just going to our big men down low. Babanggain lang sila doon. We need quick moves, quick passes and quick shots," said Pumaren.

"Our big men got the rebounds against Purefoods but they forced their shots and that sent us off track," Pumaren added.

The Pals moved well without the ball and made timely cuts as they slowly pulled away in the second half in dealing the Kings the loss.

The Kings won their first game against the Red Bull Barakos, 102-95, Friday despite missing the services of injured stars Mark Caguioa and Eric Menk.

Still without Caguioa and Menk, the Kings engaged the Pals in a toe-to-toe battle in the first half but faded away in the last two quarters.

The Pals opened a double-digit spread, 68-58, on a 16-7 opening run in the third quarter and led by as many as 18, 97-79, on torrid shooting by Belano and Ritualo in the fourth period.

Cardona paced the Pals with 20 points on 5-of-9 field goal shooting, plus 10 charities.

"Na-challenge ako kay (Ronald) Tubid. Gusto kong tapatan yung energy niya," said Cardona, the top player in the recent Fiesta Conference.

"Lumabas ang laro ni Macmac kanina kasi hindi na sya nagpipilit ng tira. I told him to change his game. Dapat malayo siya sa tao niya dahil pwede siyang bangga-banggain ngayon," said Pumaren. (NC)

The scores:

Talk N Text 111 – Cardona 20, Alapag 17, Belano 17, Ritualo 13, Taulava 10, Washington 9, Carey 9, Allado 8, De Ocampo 6, Aljamal 2.
Ginebra 102 – Tubid 22, Reavis 15, Salvacion 13, Mamaril 12, Macapagal 11, Artadi 10, Helterbrand 10, Holper 5, Lao 4, Aquino 0, Escalona 0, Abarrientos 0.
Quarterscores: 29-28, 52-51, 82-71, 111-102.