Tautuaa, Rosario shine as TnT outguns RoS

Troy Rosario, with 19 points, combined with co-rookie Moala Tautuaa, who scored 26 markers, led the TNT Tropang Texters who snapped Rain or Shine's three-game winning streak, 95-85. PBA Images

By Emy Manipol

QUEZON CITY--Moala Tautuaa punched his career-high 26 points as he, together with fellow top rookie Troy Rosario, led the scoring prowess for the Talk 'n Text Tropang Texters, who snapped the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters' 3-game winning streak with a 95-85 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.

The win by TnT helped the team have a better shot at clinching one of the top two spots after the eliminations as they improve their record to 6-3.

The Tropang Texters stunned RoS as they mounted a 17-0 opening run in the first quarter that saw 8 of the fielded in players for the Tropang Texters scoring in the 1st quarter.

RoS’ offense was in complete disarray as their shots have a difficult time finding the bottom of the net. TnT had a huge 23-point lead heading towards the 2nd quarter -34-11.

To add to RoS’ struggle, Beau Belga registered four personal fouls in just the first 12 minutes of the game the forced Coach Yeng Guiao to relegate him to the bench.

Rain or Shine tried to salvage their game by displaying good defense during the 2nd quarter as they managed to limit the hot-shooting TnT to just 16-points.

Despite their good defense, their offense continued to sputter as they failed to chipped down the lead heading towards the end of the 2nd canto.

The combined efforts of Almazan and Quiñahan managed to cut down the lead to just 16 but Tautua was quick to extinguish RoS’ potential run as he poured in points to lead an 8 to nothing run to close out the period. TnT held a 24-point lead- 50.-26.

Jeff Chan showed a glimmer of hope for the Elasto Painters as his three-point shots finally started falling. The third quarter was good quarter for RoS as they continued to limit the offense of TnT to just four points during the later part of the 3rd.

Jericho Cruz provided timely support to Chan as they hit crucial threes during the final quarter.

But the blitzering start of the Tropang Texters proved too much for Rain or Shine as TnT managed to pull off a 10-point win- 95-85.

The final score for RoS was below the team’s usual 100-point average per ball game.  TnT shot better at 48% compared to RoS’ 37% shooting clip.

The two top draft picks, Tautua and Rosario combined for 46 points while Quiñahan poured in 21 points to top score for Rain or Shine.

Box Scores:

Talk ‘N Text (95) - Tautuaa 27, Rosario 19, Fonacier 9, Castro 9, R. Reyes 8, Rosser 8, Williams 4, Miranda 4, Carey 4, Aban 3, J. Reyes 0

Rain or Shine (85) – Quiñahan 21, Chan 15, Cruz 14, Almazan 13, Ahanmisi 8, Trollano 5, Belga 3, Nimes 2, Norwood 2, Matias 1, Tiu 1, Ibanes 0, Ponferada 0

Quarterscores: 34-11, 50-26, 70-54, 95-85

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