MANILA — The Texters turned adversity into opportunity and now they're back in the hunt for another championship. Playing minus three key players, the Talk N Text Tropang Texters came from behind to beat the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 85-79, to level their best-of-five PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinal series at one win apiece Sunday at a packed Smart Araneta Coliseum. On Saturday, forward Jared Dillinger figured in a vehicular accident, sustaining injuries to his pelvis that rules him out for the rest of the tournament. He joined forward Kelly Williams and Ali Peek in sick bay. Williams is out indefinitely due to a recurrent blood disorder while Peek has knee injury. The Texters struggled for three quarters and were down by nine points, 68-59, heading into the fourth quarter. With the Kings poised to pour it on as their legions of fans rocked the coliseum with shouts of “Ginebra! Ginebra!”, the Texters stayed cool and then exploded with a crippling 12-0 run silencing many of the 17,627 fans in attendance. The Kings made one furious charge and cut the Texters' lead to a whisker at 80-79 with less than a minute left. But the Texters would not be denied the victory as Ranidel De Ocampo buried a dagger three-pointer with 33.7 seconds left to give his team an 83-79 lead. Playing for just 22 minutes due to foul trouble, De Ocampo redeemed himself by scoring 10 of his 16 points in the final period. The Kings eventually folded up after guards LA Tenorio and Josh Urbiztondo missed two straight three-point attempts. “I'm just really happy that we decided to play defense tonight,” said TNT head coach Norman Black, alluding to his team's defensive debacle in Game One where the Texters were routed by the Kings, 81-104. On Sunday, the Texters held the Kings to just 11 points in the fourth period. They also limited Vernon Macklin to just 15 points after the Ginebra import exploded for 25 in Game 1. The Texters likewise restricted high-scoring Ginebra guard LA Tenorio to just eight points on 4-of-16 shooting, forcing him to miss all his seven tries from three-point range. Cat-quick guard Jayson Castro came off the bench to lead the Texters with 22 points, four assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 28 minutes of action. Jimmy Alapag added 17 points while import Jerome Jordan finished with 14 markers. The Texters won despite a woeful 4-of-18 shooting from three-point range. The Kings were led by Kerby Raymundo with 17 points. Urbiztondo chipped in 15 while Jayjay Helterbrand added 12 points. Game 3 of the TNT-Ginebra semifinals series is set on May 8 after the PBA holds its annual All-Star Week from May 1 to 6 in Digos City, Davao del Sur. On Monday, April 29, Alaska and San Mig Coffee square off in Game 2 of their own semifinals series. Black is hoping the long break will allow his depleted squad to recharge. Ginebra, too, is still coping with injuries as reigning MVP Mark Caguioa is still recovering from a knee injury while Rudy Hatfield appeared in street clothes on Sunday with an undisclosed ailment. Black's major concern, however, is the inclusion of several of his players in the lineup of the Smart-Gilas Pilipinas national team who will be playing against a PBA selection during the All-Star Weekend. “A lot of our players are on the national team, so it's gonna be work instead of rest for them,” Black said.
