By Josh Castro
QUEZON CITY--Ahead of Manny Pacquiao's departure to the United States for his upcoming blockbuster fight against Floyd Mayweather, he coached Kia to its first winning streak in its PBA voyage.
Hyram Bagatsing scored 21 points, 18 in the second half, and the Carnival added another powerhouse club to their upset list in the Talk 'n Text Tropang Texters with a 106-103 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bagatsing sparked Kia's second half rally to put the team up by as high nine, 91-82, early in the fourth quarter.
Talk 'n Text still gave up a fight, though, as the team went on a 14-4 run to take a 96-95 advantage.
A triple from Bagatsing sparked the Carnival's 10-2 run to take a late 105-98 edge with less than two minutes remaining.
The Texters still had one last stand as Jayson Castro scored off a steal and, after a split from the line by Bagatsing, Larry Fonacier converted a triple to cut the lead to just three, 106-103.
Leo Avenido muffed two free throws on the other end, but Reil Cervantes grabbed the loose ball and gave Kia a chance to seal the win.
Cervantes, however, missed his own three-pointer, and Castro secured the rebound for a chance to tie the match.
In the final play, Ranidel De Ocampo spotted up for a buzzer-beating triple, but the shot rimmed out, and Kia posted its first back-to-back wins in franchise history.
P.J. Ramos led the Carnival with 24 points. Pacquiao, a week after being called a "joke" by Daniel Orton, was held scoreless in his fourth PBA outing.
Castro also scored 24 points, while Ivan Johnson added 21 for the Tropang Texters.
Kia 106-Ramos 24, Bagatsing 21, Avenido 16, Pascual 10, Cervantes 10, Buensuceso 10, Revilla 5, Dehesa 5, Cawaling 3, Alvarez 2, Thiele 0, Poligrates 0, Pacquiao 0
Talk 'n Text 103-Castro 24, Johnson 21, Fonacier 13, Rosser 12, Aban 12, De Ocampo 11, Reyes R.J. 6, Alas 4, Carey 0
Quarterscores: 22-33, 50-51, 78-76, 106-103
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