MANILA: Larry Fonacier drained eight three-pointers, including one that broke an 85-all tie with 18 seconds left, as the Talk N Text Tropang Texters warded off the Powerade Tigers, 89-85, Saturday night in a PBA Governors Cup road game in Digos, Davao del Sur. Fonacier finished with 27 points, including 8-of-11 from beyond the arc, and two assists. Their third straight win preserved the Texters' solo leadership of the season-ending tournament while the Tigers fell to the second to the last spot in the rankings with their third loss in four outings. The loss spoiled the return of Powerade's ace gunner Gary David who came from sick bay to finish with 10 points. After Fonacier's go-ahead trey, David could have tied the score anew but he missed a three-point shot with 12 seconds left. Jason Castro grabbed the defensive rebound and split his charities after being fouled for the final score. Castro and Ali Peek finished with 14 points apiece. The Texters trailed the Tigers, 23-27, in the second quarter. Led by Fonacier, the Texters then uncorked a blistering 20-4 run to take a 43-31 lead at halftime. Fonacier was a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range and already had 12 points at halftime. Meantime, the Meralco Bolts and the B-Meg Llamados – two ballclubs aching to bounce back from defeat in their last game – will go head-to-head Sunday. The Bolts are coming from an 81-97 loss to the Barangay Ginebra Kings last Friday while the Llamados are still licking their wounds from a 107-102 loss against Alaska on June 22 Although previously reported to be on the way out because of his miserable shooting, import Stefhon Hannah will continue to be B-Meg's import, at least for Sunday night, PBA officials said. Hannah, the smallest import in the tourney, shot only 3-of-25 from three-point territory as he continued to struggle with his game.
