Texters clip Blackwater for second straight win

Texters’ Moala Tautuaa in action against Blackwater during their PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Friday. (AN photo)

MANILA: The top overall pick in the Draft was on focus all game Friday night, and someone who had the same distinction a season ago used the same stage to make up somewhat.
Moala Tautuaa, the Fil-Tongan that TNT KaTropa snagged as No. 1 last year, hit his first six shots and played possibly his finest pro game, helping the Texters clip Blackwater, 99-92, for their second straight victory in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Tautuaa finished with 20 points and with the win, took the limelight away from Blackwater’s Mac Belo, this season’s top overall Draft pick who played well yet again but fell just short as the Elite lost for the first time in three games and saw their franchise-best start come to a halt at two games.
“I want to redeem myself from last season,” Tautuaa told reporters after shooting 15 points in the first half and going on to share team scoring honors with the comebacking Jason Castro as TNT climbed to 2-1 before new coach Nash Racela formally takes over in the next game.
“I have to grow continuously and get better,” added the 6-foot-7 center, who had such a disappointing first year last season that he didn’t even make it to the All-Rookie Team. “I didn’t play like myself last season.”
Castro finally made his season debut after sitting out the first two games and immediately made an impact despite a woeful shooting night from the field.
The fleet-footed point guard made his first shot, a three-pointer, and wound up with 20 points built around an 11-for-13 clip from the free throw line.
“I was so excited going into this game because it has been a while since I last held a basketball,” Castro, Asia’s finest point guard in the last two continental championships, said on the way back to his car.
“I felt so energized (coming from a break), and that, I feel, is the most important thing,” he said.
Racela sat on the bench for the first time since being named as Jong Uichico’s replacement, but still let Josh Reyes call the shots.
“I have always been part of the preparations of the team, but since I just got here, it was coach Josh who called the shots,” Racela, who only became available after Far Eastern University lost in the UAAP Final Four to Ateneo on Wednesday, said.
“They (Reyes and the other assistants) were the ones who did the game plan, so it was just right that they do the coaching (in this game),” Racela said.
The Texters trailed by as large as nine, at the end of the first quarter, before Castro started getting back in the groove and held the team together.
Tautuaa, meanwhile, was wrecking havoc inside with the lack of agile big men in the Blackwater lineup and helped the Texters in holding off the Elite’s spirited charge in the final half.
Belo hit 15 points in the final two periods and finished with 21, his average, that went with nine rebounds.
But the Elite saw an end to a two-game streak by sputtering in the end, something which coach Leo Isaac would have to address now that he has the tools he needs to contend.
In the second game, Stanley Pringle scored 24 points and backcourt mate Terrence Romeo added 18 as the duo – as usual – led GlobalPort to a 91-84 clipping of Star.
The Batang Pier held the Hotshots to a pathetic eight points in the first period, using several big leads as cushion for several Star comebacks that rookie Jio Jalalon started in the second period.
“We were able to dictate the pace of the game by putting emphasis on team defense,” new GlobalPort coach Franz Pumaren said. Everyone’s embracing their role in the team and that is crucial.
“It’s still very early for this team,” Pumaren continued. “The real test for us will come in the next games.”
KG Canaleta, a pre-season acquisition from Mahindra, had 12 points for the Batang Pier, who rose to 2-0 and climbed into a tie with idle Rain or Shine for the early lead.