MANILA — It's the end of the road for the GlobalPort Batang Pier. The Talk N Text Tropang Texters executed the coup de grâce on the long-time cellar-dweller of the league with an emphatic 94-84 win Saturday night in a PBA Commissioner's Cup road game at the University of San Agustin Gymnasium in Iloilo City. GlobalPort suffered its ninth straight loss for a 2-10 win-loss card with only two games left. The Texters improved to 6-6, catching up with idle Petron at sixth to seventh place in the standings. TNT is just half a game behind Petron Glaze, Barangay Ginebra, and Meralco, three teams with identical 6-5 mark who are tied for joint third to fifth places in the standings. The league-leading Alaska Aces (9-3) and solo second-placed Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (8-4) have already booked the top two spots in the quarterfinals. The Texters will next face the Kings and the Boosters in their last two assignments in the elimination round. As one of the seven teams in a mad scramble for the last six slots in the playoffs, the Texters played like they were fighting for dear life as they went all out for the win. Ryan Reyes led the Texters with 24 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Reyes waxed hot in the second quarter, leading a 27-13 assault to turn a close game into a rout as the TNT erected a 16-point lead, 56-40, at halftime. The Texters kept up the pressure in the third quarter, warding off every attempt of the Batang Pier to come close. However, with seven minutes left in the game and with TNT still up 86-70, GlobalPort ignited a 12-0 run to come to within four points. But that was the closest the Batang Pier could come as TNT team captain Jimmy Alapag nailed back-to-back triples to spark an 8-0 counter strike to bury the Batang Pier for good. Alapag finished with 20 points. Ranidel de Ocampo and Jayson Castro added 13 and 12 points respectively. TNT import Donnell Harvey was limited to six points. GlobalPort had flown in a new and expectedly better import to revive its hopes but to no avail. Sly Morgan, the new Batang Pier reinforcement, led his team with 19 points, while Mille Miller added 15. TNT had also handily defeated GlobalPort in their first meeting last February 20, 99-79. Meanwhile, reigning MVP Mark Caguioa has a “50-50” chance of joining his teammates when the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings go up against the Meralco Bolts in the main game of Sunday's double-header. Ginebra coach Alfrancis Chua said his star player, sidelined for two weeks now by an MCL sprain on his left knee, may suit up as the Kings seek a sixth straight win to fortify their playoff hopes. Two other previously indisposed Kings — Kerby Raymundo and Rico Maierhofer — are also expected to see action.
