Saudi Gazette MANILA — The Talk N Text Tropang Texters started like a house on fire that kept on raging till the final embers en route to an astonishing 95-85 shellacking of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sunday night in the PBA Philippine Cup. This year's top 2 draft picks — Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario — led the Texters to their fifth win in eight games, tying idle GlobalPort at fourth to fifth place in the standings. Their second loss in eight games snapped Rain or Shine's three-game winning streak, failing to catch up with leaders San Miguel Beer (7-1) and Alaska (7-1) to settle for solo third. Tautuaa finished with a career-high 27 points and eight rebounds while Rosario posted a double-double 19 markers and 11 boards. TNT blasted off with a 17-0 run at the get-go, holding Rain or Shine scoreless for the first six minutes of the game and never looking back. The Texters only relaxed a bit in the endgame when the result was already a foregone conclusion. A triple by Aaron Aban at the close of the first quarter gave TNT a commanding 25-point lead, 34-9. The Painters, the league's top offensive team, could not get their shots to fall, missing all 15 of their three-point shots. Jeff Chan was the top scorer for Rain or Shine with 15 points. Star 104, Mahindra 96 The Star Hotshots snapped a four-game losing streak, beating the Mahindra Enforcers, 104-96, in a closely fought game between two teams struggling to avoid elimination. Star thus improved its win-loss record to 3-6, taking solo ninth place with two games left its elimination round schedule — against Barako Bull on Dec. 13 and Blackwater Elite on Dec. 18. The Hotshots need to win at least one of those remaining games to clinch an outright quarterfinals slot. Mahindra absorbed its seventh loss in nine games to stay at No. 10 in the standings. The 11th and 12th placers — currently Blackwater (1-7) and Meralco (1-8) – after the elimination round get the early exit in the conference. The backcourt duo of Marc Barroca and Alex Mallari were the Star heroes Sunday as they made the game's biggest play in the payoff period. Barroca played his best game in the conference, banging in 26 points. Mallari also shone for Star, finishing with 20 markers. James Yap also played his guts out for Star, posting 15 points. Peter June Simon and rookie Jake Pascual added 11 and 10 markers, respectively. With Star protecting a hairline 95-94 lead, Barroca stole the ball from Mahindra's Paolo Hubalde at the backcourt, whipping a pass to a streaking Mallari for an easy lay-up, extending the Hotshots' lead to three with 1:46 left. The Hotshots added four more points for the win. Aldrech Ramos and Karl Dehesa were the top scorers for Mahindra, with 26 and 24 respectively. Kyle Pascual added 11. Games Wednesday: GlobalPort Batang Pier (5-3) vs. Meralco Bolts (1-8) and NLEX Road Warriors (4-4) vs. San Miguel Beermen (7-1).
