MANILA — Kelly Williams flashed his old deadly form, helping lead the Talk N Text Tropang Texters to a much needed 94-85 victory over the fading Kia Carnival Friday night in the PBA Governors' Cup. The Texters thus ended the elimination round with a 5-6 win-loss card, at solo seventh in the standings and still in contention for a playoff spot. The loss sent Kia into a tie with idle Barangay Ginebra at ninth to 10th place, both with a 4-6 card. Five teams at the bottom half of the standings—TNT, Star, Ginebra, Kia and NLEX—are scrambling for the last two spots in the eight-team quarterfinals with only four elimination playdates remaining. Star (4-5) goes up against Barako Bull (6-4) Sunday and then against Blackwater (1-9) Tuesday. Kia (4-6) tangles with Meralco (5-4) Wednesday, the same day Ginebra (4-6) squares off with NLEX (3-7). Averaging just 5.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in the conference, Williams came out firing on all cylinders as he started for TNT for the first time. The man nicknamed “Machine Gun” Kelly, who was the 2007 PBA MVP, finished with 14 points, including back-to-back three-pointers in the fourth quarter when the Carnival came charging to cut the Texters' 28-point lead to just four points. Williams also shone defensively, limiting KIA's dominant seven-foot import Hamady N'Diaye to just nine points and 13 rebounds, the Senegalese star's second lowest output. Jayson Castro was the top scorer for Talk N Text with 19 points. Like Williams, Ranidel de Ocampo also scored 14 points. Steffphon Pettigrew had 11 points and eight boards, while Jordanian import Sam Daghles chipped in with 10. TNT was ahead, 51-23, at halftime. But the Carnival came out smoking in the third quarter, chopping the Texters' lead to just four, 69-65, late in the third. But TNT refused to be cowed, blasting off with a 16-4 run at the start of the fourth quarter to pull away. The Carnival made one final counterstrike to cut TNT's lead to seven, 92-85, with less than two minutes left. But time ran out on the fading Carnival who are now on a three-game losing streak. Karl Dehesa led the Carnival with 19 points while Taiwanese import Jet Chang finished with 17 markers and seven rebounds. NLEX 102, Blackwater 89 The NLEX Road Warriors came back from a 10-point deficit in the last three minutes to force overtime, eventually turning back the pesky Blackwater Elite, 102-89. It was only the third victory in 10 outings for the Road Warriors but enough to revive their playoff hopes. The big test will come Tuesday when NLEX battles Barangay Ginebra in the final game of the elimination round, with the winner gaining a ticket to the playoffs and the loser bowing out of the season. Kwame Alexander, Michael Madanly, Asi Taulava, and Mac Cardona sparked the Road Warriors' fiery comeback in the final three minutes of regulation time when they outscored the Elite 12-2 to force overtime. The four stayed hot in the five-minute extension period to finally send Blackwater out of the conference. Game on Saturday, June 20, 2015: Alaska Aces vs. San Miguel Beermen
