Saturday, December 15, 2007 Talk ‘N Text tames Welcoat Dragons
MANILA – The Talk 'N Text Phone Pals leaned on Yancy de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag's clutch hits in the crucial stretch to escape with a 99-96 vengeance over the Welcoat Dragons last night in the 2007 Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
De Ocampo, the 6'7 former St. Francis Assisi College standout, and Alapag scored decisive basket each that practically ended the Dragons last-ditch searing rally to avenge their heartbreaking 125-126 overtime setback to Welcoat in the first round of the elimination on Nov. 11.
Despite losing the highly-emotional Harvey Carey and Mark Cardona, who were thrown out of the game with still 2:21 left in the third quarter, the rest of the Phone Pals, especially De Ocampo and Alapag, took over the cudgels to secure their 7th victory in 13 matches.
"Those were just the uncontrollable emotions that did it for Mark Cardona and Harvey Carey, but they are important players in this game. They asked for an apology afterwards but what can we do," said Talk 'N Text head coach Derek Pumaren.
Before the outburst, which also involved Jojo Tangkay, it was actually Mark Cardona who piled on the points by firing 11 of his game-high 21 points in the third period.
This prevented the Dragons from gaining the momentum, which the Phone Pals held since the start of the game.
"The emotional incident could have cost us this game. We managed to remain cool the rest of the way. I'm very proud of my wards, they played well," said Pumaren.
With the loss, Welcoat, which clearly missed the services of the injured Jay-Arr Reyes, tied their worst and longest losing streak of 6 games last year.
They dropped to the bottom of the standing with 3-10 win-loss card. (FCC)
