Games today:
Araneta Coliseum
7 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs. Powerade
Veteran forward Danny Ildefonso hit a pivotal basket in the closing seconds that helped Petron stymie Talk ‘N Text’s endgame comeback as the Boosters held off the defending champions Tropang Texters, 91-89, in Game 2 of their best-of-seven semifinal series of the 37th PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
With the two-point win, Petron and Talk ’N Text are now one-all in the race-to-four battle similar to the other series between the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Powerade Tigers, who also split their first two games.
Alex Cabagnot topscored for the the Boosters with 24 points although he was held scoreless in the fourth period.
Coming up big in the endgame was Ildefonso, who hit a long jumper from the left corner that gave the Boosters an 89-84 lead with 20.5 seconds left.
Ildefonso’s basket somehow gave the Boosters some breathing space as the Texters cut what seemed like an insurmountable 59-75 deficit going into final basket.
An rim-rattling two-handed follow-up dunk by Japeth Aguilar sparked a mighty comeback by the Texters, who exploited the Boosters’ early penalty situation woes by scoring a bulk of points from the free-throw area.
The Texters had moved within 84-87 when Ildefonso sank the crucial basket.
The shot was a reminiscent Ildefonso’s heroics in Game 1 of last season’s Fiesta Cup Finals where he delivered a buzzer-beating jumper that gave the Boosters the needed momentum en route to copping the champions title.
Petron was able to bounce back from its 83-87 Game 1 loss despite getting just 12 free throw attempts, making 10.
Talk ‘N Text went to the free throw line at will, scoring 28 points on 40 tries.