Thursday, February 01, 2007 Too ‘fast and too furious’
THE Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals came into the game with high hopes of erecting 3-1 series lead in their semifinals encounter against the Ginebra Gin Kings.
Instead, the Phone Pals met a crushing defeat yesterday as the Kings rebounded from their earlier loss with a 110-103 victory to even their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semis series at two games apiece.
San Miguel and Red Bull were still playing at press time last night.
The Kings’ combination of Mark Caguioa and JJ Helterbrand, dubbed as “The fast and the Furious”, exploded in the final quarter to help Ginebra secure the win.
Caguioa banged in a game-high 35 points and made three assists as he led a blazing Ginebra fourth quarter run to bring the series back to square one.
Rudy Hatfield also played a monster game for the Kings as the Fil-Am workhorse tallied a double-double performance of 18 markers and 18 boards, while Helterbrand chipped in 14 points with seven coming in the period that mattered most for the Kings.
The Kings and the Phone Pals, which came into the game with a 109-100 Game 3 victory against the Kings that gave them a 2-1 edge, ended the opening canto tied at 29-all before Talk ’N Text inched ahead at 52-48 at the bend with Jay Washington leading the offensive charge.
The Phone Pals continued to dictate the tempo for the most part of the third canto until Caguioa suddenly went berserk as he scored the Kings’ last five points in the period to pull Ginebra ahead, 77-75, entering the payoff canto.
The Phone Pals managed to stay within striking distance in the opening minute of the final chapter but Caguioa fired two consecutive treys in igniting a searing Ginebra rally finally broke the game. (JSV)
