MANILA – Only one team remained undefeated in the PBA Philippine Cup Sunday after the Talk N Text Tropang Texters downed the San Mig Coffee Mixers, 85-74, at the Ynares Center. Larry Fonacier rained down 26 points, including a crucial three-pointer which sparked a 14-2 TNT run in the final quarter that broke the backs of the hard-fighting Mixers. Fonacier was 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc and also had seven rebounds. The Texters took the solo lead in the standings with their fourth straight win while the Mixers suffered their first loss in three games, good for solo third behind Rain Or Shine's 3-1 win-loss mark. It looked like the Mixers were about to pull the rug from the Texters down the homestretch after they erased an early 17-point deficit to take a 67-64 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. The two teams battled furiously from then on. James Yap drilled a three-pointer midway in the final canto to give San Mig Coffee a 72-71 lead. But that proved to be the Mixers' last taste of the lead as the Texters came charging back with Fonacier drilling a three-pointer and Kelly Williams converting on a putback. San Mig Coffee's Peter June Simon then scored on a difficult jumper but Ranidel de Ocampo answered back with a short jumper to keep TNT's lead at four, 78-74. Ryan Reyes then hit an uncontested triple at the top of the arc to pad TNT's lead to seven. The Mixers' offense floundered as they kept missing their shots. Two charities by Fonacier and a dunk by Williams sealed the win for the Texters. New TNT head coach Norman Black credited the win to his team's tenacious defense, particularly in the fourth quarter. “I really felt that this was our first big test today. We know they're a very strong team,” he said. “My players did a good job in disrupting their system,” added Black. Jason Castro chipped in 16 points while Reyes, Williams and De Ocampo had 12, 11 and 10 respectively. Yap topscored for San Mig Coffee with 18 points. In the first game, Jervy Cruz sizzled for 22 points and 16 rebounds as the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters defeated the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 94-83. Their fourth loss in five games sent the Batang Pier to the bottom of the standings. Jeff Chan chipped in 13 points for the Painters while Ronnie Matias and JR Quinahan contributed 11 each. GlobalPort was led by rookie Jason Deutchman, the 10th overall 2012 draft pick, who scored 18 points. Another rookie, AJ Madani, the 14th pick, added 17, while the usually prolific Willie Miller struggled for just 10 points.
