Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The duo of import Richard Howell and Jimmy Alapag whipped up a storm in the endgame as the Talk N Text Tropang Texters toppled the San Miguel Beermen, 107-99, Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in a battle between the two undefeated teams in the PBA Commissioner's Cup. The Texters scored their third straight win, thus grabbing early solo leadership of the conference, despite the ejection of coach Norman Black in the third quarter after drawing two straight technical fouls for excessive complaining with the referees. It was the first time in 28 years that Black was ejected from a PBA game. A scoring machine in the NBA D-League before he joined the PBA, Howell lived up to the expectations by exploding for 38 points — 11 of them from TNT's first 15 points in the fourth quarter — scoring from almost every angle and using a wide variety of shots. Howell also finished with 20 rebounds, four assists and five steals. Led by their fiery import, the Texters opened up a 16-point lead late in the final period, 92-76. But the Beermen managed to chop the lead to just four, 93-97, in the final two minutes as Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz and new import Kevin Jones sparked a mighty uprising. But Alapag came to TNT's rescue as he drained a clutch three-pointer and then four free throws in the final 55 seconds to finally vanquish the Beermen. Alapag finished with 18 points, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, on top of seven assists. Ranidel De Ocampo and Jayson Castro added 16 and 10 points respectively and four rebounds each. Jones, who replaced Josh Boone after two games, led SMB with 35 points and 13 rebounds in his PBA debut. Paolo Hubalde and Marcio Lassiter added 14 and 12 points, respectively. June Mar Fajardo played his first game in the conference after recovering from an ankle injury, finishing with seven points, nine rebounds and six turnovers. Air21 103, Barako Bull 85 The Air21 Express played their best defensive game yet in the conference as they handcuffed Joshua Dollard, the league's most prolific import, and the rest of the Barako Bull Energy, 103-85, in the first game of the Friday double-header. Air21 reinforcement Herve Lamizana, a 6'9” center, used his height advantage to make life difficult for Dollard who averaged 44.5 points per game. The Barako Bull import, the shortest in the league standing at 6'4”, was limited to just 12 points. Lamizana led Air21 with 24 points, including 20 of the Express' 30 points in the third quarter as they raced to a 75-57 lead entering the final quarter. Lamizana also had 13 rebounds and two blocks. Aldrech Ramos, traded by Alaska earlier, debuted for Air21 with 17 points, including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Mac Cardona added 15 points while Asi Taulava chipped in with 14 points and 10 rebounds as Air21 posted its second win in three matches. JC Intal and Dennis Miranda paced Barako Bull with 18 points apiece as the Energy absorbed their second loss in three games. Games Saturday: Rain or Shine vs. Alaska; and Meralco vs. GlobalPort.
