Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Their victory came after a scare. The Talk N Text Tropang Texters and the San Mig Coffee Mixers both had to go through the eye of the needle Thursday before recording separate victories in the quarterfinals of the 2012-2013 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Since Talk N Text and San Mig Coffee both enjoy the twice-to-beat incentive for finishing first and second respectively in the elimination rounds, they immediately advance into the semifinals beginning next week. The Texters await the winner of the quarterfinals duel between Alaska and Meralco, while the Mixers await the winner of the Rain or Shine-Barangay Ginebra best-of-three series. The Mixers came from behind to beat the tenacious Petron Blaze Boosters in overtime, 92-87. Andy Mark Barroca was the big difference for the Mixers as he scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and in the five-minute overtime to finally vanquish a hard-fighting Petron squad. Barroca nailed clutch baskets one after the other in the payoff period to allow the Mixers to come back from a 46-57 third-quarter deficit. San Mig head coach Tim Cone was all praise for his gutsy guard. “They call Mark the Wolverine because he gets knocked out or hit but he still gets up and play. He got hit in Tuesday's practice but next day, he just got back told me he'll play. We were shocked,” said Cone. “He hyperextended his elbow and we thought it might have torn ligament. He was on the ground for 10 or 15 minutes. That was Tuesday. He had a hard time getting up. We thought he's not gonna play. But he showed up in practice,” he added. Earlier, James Yap carried the fight for the Mixers as he led all scorers with 23 points. He also had seven rebounds and two steals. Top 2012 draft pick June Mar Fajardo led Petron with 22 points and 15 rebounds. He also had three blocks in 35 minutes of play. Alex Cabagnot contributed 21 markers, while Marcio Lassiter chipped in with 16 points, including four three-pointers before he was rushed to the hospital after a bad fall in the fourth quarter. Cone heaved a humongous sigh of relief after the cardiac game, recalling his team's collapse during the same conference last year when they also had a twice-to-beat incentive against the Powerade Tigers only to squander it. “Talk about being put on the wringer,” said a relieved Cone. In the first match of the rare Thursday double-header, Ranidel Ocampo buried a dagger three-pointer with 25.2 seconds left to break a 98-all tie as the Texters repulsed the gutsy eight-seed Air21 Express, 105-100. After Air21's Bonbon Custodio scored on a baseline drive to cut the TNT lead to a single point, Jayson Castro responded with two charities to give TNT a three-point lead once again, 103-100. Custodio again drove to the lane, but lost control of the ball, dashing the Express' last hope for an upset. For most parts of the game, the Express fought the top-seeded and two-time defending champion on even terms with KG Canaleta and Mike Cortez playing inspired ball. Canaleta top scored for the Express with 25 points, including 6-of-9 from three-point range. Cortez nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, a career-high 18 assists and nine rebounds. In the end, however, the Texters had enough firepower to ward off the Express. Six Texters scored in double-digits led by Ryan Reyes and Larry Fonacier who both had 16 points. Castro chipped in with 15, while De Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag added 13 markers each. Aaron Aban contributed 10 points. Talk N Text head coach Norman Black took his hats off Air21 for giving them a tough game. “They (Express) defended well today. They are much better than their record,” said Black.
