Cardona, Carey ejected, likely to miss Pals’ next game

TALK N TEXT GETS BACK AT WELCOAT. With two of their key pieces ejected for rough play, Jimmy Alapag restored order to a sputtering third quarter by Talk N Text and led a decisive charge that propelled the Phone Pals to a 99-96 victory over the Welcoat Dragons in their rematch Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.After a scoreless first half, Alapag scored his first seven points in the last 1:58 of the third to spark an 11-2 windup that foiled a ferocious charge by the Dragons and kept the Phone Pals in the hunt for a playoff berth in the 2007-08 Smart PBA Philippine Cup.

But the finishing touches were provided by Yancy de Ocampo, who cornered two crucial offensive rebounds in the last 34 seconds to seal TNT's seventh win in 13 games that tied it with Magnolia for fourth spot.

The Phone Pals will be paying a high price though with Mark Cardona ( 21 points) and Harvey Carey (8 points, 11 rebounds) facing suspension after being banished from the court late in the third for losing their temper.

TNT held a comfortable 66-56 lead when things turned ugly with 2:20 remaining in the third following steal by Welcoat's Jojo Tangkay off Cardona.

Apparently, Cardona, who had been trading barbs with Tangkay before that play, lost his cool and in the ensuing play knocked Tangkay to the floor with a clothesline tackle.

The Welcoat reserve guard got up and confronted Cardona but the hot shooting guard shoved him again before Carey joined the fray by pushing Tangkay from behind.

"Obviously Macmac got carried away. He said sorry but what else can we do? The damaged has been done. He should learn to keep his cool. We are trying to salvage a quarterfinal berth and this kind of incident is not helping us," said Derrick Pumaren, the TNT coach.

Still, Pumaren said he was proud with the way the rest of his troops took care of business.

"The players showed their character. They hung tough and showed desire to win. That's what matters."

The infraction committed by Cardona and Carey paved the way for Tangkay's five free throws before rookie Ryan Arana scored on a layup to pull Welcoat within 63-69.

But Alapag, who went 0-of-3 in the first half, responded with two free throws, a 3-pointer and an assist to Yousif Aljamal for a layup to highlight that telling 11-2 run that kept the Dragons at bay.

De Ocampo finished with 17 points and Jay Washington added 13 for the Phone Pals, who have a lot work ahead of them to make the playoffs.

Nick Belasco tallied 20 points but struggled with his shots, going 8-for-25 from the field, and pulled down 10 rebounds. Joe Devance contributed 19 points and 13 boards while Tangakay added 17 for the Dragons, who picked up their sixth straight loss and 10th overall in 13 games.

The Dragons made a last ditch effort in the closing minute when Arana, Devance and Donald Dulay completed a 9-2 run that pushed Welcoat within 93-96 with 48 seconds to go.

But defensive lapses spoiled their effort with De Ocampo cornering the two big offensive rebounds with the game on the line.

Source: PBA