MANILA — The Talk N Text Tropang Texters—led by four of their five Gilas Pilipinas members—drubbed sister team Meralco Bolts, 105-91, Wednesday night for their second straight win after starting the 2015-2016 PBA Philippine Cup with a loss. Aside from Ranidel de Ocampo—who is out for six to eight weeks due to a herniated disc back problem—the four other Gilas campaigners were at their best delivering the goods for TNT. High-leaping Matt Ganuelas-Rosser was the team's top scorer with 19 points, 10 of them scored in the first quarter mostly on follow-ups when the Texters raced to a double-digit lead. This year's top 2 draft picks—Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario—also flashed deadly form, posting 18 and 14 points, respectively. Jayson Castro was as productive as ever, finishing with 15 points, four boards, three assists, and one block in 28 minutes of action. For the first time, former TNT team captain Jimmy Alapag found himself on the opposing side and unable to stop his former teammates. Alapag finished with just four points on just five attempts for Meralco. He also had five assists in 17 minutes off the bench. Comebacking Rabeh Al-Hussaini led five Bolts in double-figure scoring, tallying 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, on top of five boards, and two blocks. Gary David, Cliff Hodge and rookie Chris Newsome scored 13 points apiece while Jared Dillinger chipped in 11. After trailing 10-13, the Texters unleashed a 23-4 run and ended the first quarter with a 16-point lead, 33-17. The Texters upped the lead to as high as 27 points in the second quarter. The Bolts could only narrow the gap to 15 points in the fourth quarter, but whatever slim hopes they got were quickly doused when Tautuaa drilled two free throws followed by a three-point shot to push TNT's lead back to 20, 101-81, with about four minutes remaining. With the win, TNT forged a four-way tie with San Miguel, GlobalPort and NLEX for third to sixth place in the standings. Meralco absorbed its third straight defeat, crashing into the bottom of the pile in the company of Mahindra. San Miguel Beer 93,Blackwater 83 The San Miguel Beermen bounced back from a loss to Rain or Shine in their last game, beating the upset-conscious Blackwater Elite, 93-83. The win enabled SMB to tie Alaska at second to third spot in the standings, both with a 2-1 win-loss card, behind tournament leader Rain or Shine (3-0). SMB fought hard against a Blackwater team still relishing its 92-90 upset win over Meralco in its last game. The score was close for three and a half quarters before the Beermen finally secured the win. Reigning back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo netted 20 points and 13 rebounds, although he had five turnovers and missed seven of his 11 free throw attempts. Marcio Lassiter also scored 20 points, including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. He also had nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Alex Cabagnot added 15 points, including five in the last three and a half minutes. Center JP Erram led the Elite with 23 points and eight boards. Mike Cortez added 15 points and three assists. Games Friday: NLEX Road Warriors vs. Mahindra Enforcers and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier.
