Talk 'N Text (Smart Communications, 2001–present) TNT KaTropa

1 talk n text (smart communications, 2001–present)

1.1 under foreign coaches
1.2 jimmy alapag-harvey carey era

1.2.1 2003 all-filipino championship
1.2.2 post-championship era
1.2.3 2004–05 talk n text phone pals season
1.2.4 2005–06 talk n text phone pals season
1.2.5 2006–07 talk n text phone pals season
1.2.6 end of asi taulava era
1.2.7 2009–10 season
1.2.8 2010–11 season

1.2.8.1 2011–12 pba philippine cup
1.2.8.2 2012–13 pba philippine cup


1.2.9 2013–14 talk n text tropang texters season

1.2.9.1 2013–14 pba commissioner s cup
1.2.9.2 2013–14 pba governors cup


1.2.10 2014–15 pba season: rise of jayson castro

1.2.10.1 2014–15 philippine cup


1.2.11 jimmy alapag s retirement/end of jimmy alapag era

1.2.11.1 2015 pba commissioner s cup
1.2.11.2 2015 pba governors cup

talk n text (smart communications, 2001–present)

beginning in 2001 governors cup, franchise came under control of smart communications after company absorbed operations of pilipino telephone corporation. team changed name talk n text phone pals .

under foreign coaches

before 2002 season, talk n text fired alas , hired former unlv coach bill bayno, despite numerous calls nationalist basketball coaches association of philippines ban american mentor. although lost asi taulava , patrick fran national pool, talk n text bannered richie frahm , jerald honeycutt, replacement original import. phone pals ended top team in elimination phase of governor s cup suffered same fate in 1999, when eighth seed san miguel beermen upset pals.

talk n text broke spell in commissioner s cup, led honeycutt , pete mickeal, when seventh seeded phone pals defeated sta. lucia in quarterfinals , alaska in five-game semis affair enter third finals appearance in team history, , first since 1998. in end, red bull defeated talk n text in 7 grueling games.

bayno later left team, without parting shots on pba when accused league of favoring san miguel corporation teams.

in all-filipino, taulava returned team after national team stint in asian games, phone pals got boot in quarterfinals under new head coach paul woolpert, american coach replaced departed bill bayno.

jimmy alapag-harvey carey era

in 2003, phone pals used 2 first round picks draft fil-americans harvey carey , jimmy alapag, rp national pool in 2002. pals struggled in all-filipino. midway tournament, woolpert left team , replaced ateneo coach joel banal, had led blue eagles uaap title in 2002.

2003 all-filipino championship

talk n text rose tournament , captured all-filipino cup on defending champion coca-cola in 6 games. after overtime win in game five, phone pals became first team since 1982 come 0–2 deficit win next 4 games after hard-fought game 6 victory. taulava named pba finals mvp, after winning best player of conference award.

post-championship era

they qualified in 2003 pba invitationals, 4 guest teams invited. joel banal left team moment concentrate on ateneo blue eagles stint in uaap. phone pals did not qualify semis, not without controversy. needing win 8 points on red bull barako qualify, phone pals deliberately fouled several red bull players in last 2 minutes force overtime or reach needed 8 point margin. game turned out more disgraceful when jojo manalo tried hit three-pointer on red bull s basket. incident led hefty fine , five-game suspension acting coach ariel vanguardia.

in revived reinforced conference, talk n text bannered damien cantrell finished 7–6 mark, 4th place in group b. upset top seeded red bull barako 2–1 ended jimwell torion s clothesline on jimmy alapag s face led latter s suspension 8 months, later reduced.

in semis, talk n text swept eventual champions coca-cola, phone pals captured third place in tournament after beating sta. lucia in one-game playoff third place.

asi taulava became first filipino-foreign player since ricardo brown in 1985 win coveted valuable player award. jimmy alapag won rookie of year honors wrap phone pals incredible year.

2004–05 talk n text phone pals season

joel banal resigned ateneo head coach concentrate on talk n text team. in 2004 pba fiesta conference, phone pals bannered 2002 mvp willie miller , yancy de ocampo in separate deals red bull , fedex.

the phone pals made semis of tournament, lost in three-game showdown crowd favorite barangay ginebra kings.

in 2004–05 philippine cup, phone pals placed second in classification phase qualify semifinals. swept shell turbo chargers defeated in 6 games barangay ginebra.

during tournament, asi taulava considered department of justice 1 of 6 filipino-foreigners suspected of falsifying documents. taulava suspended pba indefinitely, along 5 other players.

taulava gained advantage quezon city rtc, pba still didn t give taulava go-signal. in finals of philippine cup, phone pals used taulava despite league s refusal allow taulava. talk n text reasoned court order allowed asi play in series. phone pals wound winning game 1 double figures, game forfeited 2 days later, awarding win barangay ginebra. phone pals later announced not allow taulava play rest of series.

in 2004–05 fiesta conference, phone pals finished first after classification phase, earning outright semifinals berth. in semis, phone pals eliminated departing shell turbo chargers, 3–1, face san miguel in finals series.

taulava once again used talk n text, time league gave go-signal taulava return , play mother ballclub. asi showed rustiness during series phone pals lost series san miguel, 4–1. willie miller named best player of conference.

2005–06 talk n text phone pals season

talk n text acquired rookies jay washington , mark cardona air21 express yancy de ocampo , patrick fran in separate deals.

the phone pals considered top favorites in 2005–06 fiesta conference. however, phone pals lost in 5 grueling games air21 in quarterfinals. during series, import damien cantrell replaced former detroit piston , nba champion darvin ham. however, ham did not fit in talk n text s system, , struggled.

after disappointing finish in tournament, joel banal resigned head coach , replaced former amateur coach derrick pumaren. change made strides in stages of second stint talk n text. pumaren using star players asi taulava , jimmy alapag, , mixing harvey carey , seldom-used rookie mark cardona, phone pals went 5–4 through 9 games of philippine cup.

however, phone pals suffered 3 succeeding losses, prompting team officials land ren-ren ritualo air21 leo avenido , future first round draft pick, don allado alaska willie miller, john ferriols , future first round pick on may 8. move saw phone pals potential title contender squad boasting group of star players past teams along taulava, alapag, cardona , carey. strong lineup, trade put phone pals in deeper hole, losing 3 more games before win against coca-cola gave them disappointing 6–10 card.

in wildcard phase, phone pals did not win single game in round-robin format. in initial game, talk n text lost barangay ginebra, eliminating them quarterfinal contention before losing final 2 games air21 , sta. lucia.

the phone pals had shot of taking no. 1 pick in draft traded rights air21 in trade months ago, dealt big blow franchise. rumors speculated tnt management set make drastic changes team after disappointing season.

2006–07 talk n text phone pals season

talk n text released poch juinio, while contracts of vergel meneses , chris cantonjos not renewed, leaving team 10 players. phone pals participated in 2006 nba summer pro league. in 2006 pba draft, selected mark andaya in first round, pick in draft.

talk n text managed start off big in 2006-07 pba philippine cup, string of losses put them beneath standings. late surge, followed crucial christmas day victory on ginebra, gave team 10–8 record , quarterfinals berth against purefoods. phone pals won series 3–1, dethroning defending philippine cup champions winning next 3 games convincing margins. @ semifinals, took crowd favorite barangay ginebra kings 6 games eliminated eventual champions; defeated red bull barako in third-place game.

in 2007 pba fiesta conference, phone pals barged finals after surviving quarterfinal scare against air21 express , upsetting first seed red bull barako face alaska aces. aces drew first blood taking game 1 fell behind 1–2 series deficit after newly crowned best player of conference mark cardona scoring big. newly crowned mvp candidate willie miller erupted 29 points tie series. cardona had answer when top-scored locals on game 5.

cardona gave ball away in dying seconds aces tie series 3-all. game 7 tight affair aces broke through miller steal off cardona seal talk n text s third successive finals defeat.

the end of asi taulava era

talk n text rising powerhouse team after 2007 fiesta conference finals, star-studded line-up bannered asi taulava, jimmy alapag, don allado, jay washington, harvey carey, renren ritualo, mac-mac cardona, , yousif aljamal. however, former mvp taulava s point production dipped when opted concentrate on defensive end. dismal performance on team cost him slot @ phone pals roster. on november 26, 2007, asi taulava era @ talk n text officially ended when prized fil-tongan center shipped coca-cola tigers in exchange ali peek , 2008 first-round draft pick.

taulava , tigers had 5-game winning streak, while phone pals muster three-win streak of own. on final game of elimination round, tnt needing win force playoff last quarterfinal berth, taulava , tigers beat phone pals deny them playoff , instead arranged sudden death wildcard game between 2 teams. taulava , ex-phone pal mark telan playing inspired basketball, tigers eliminated #6 seed phone pals in first wildcard round.

this led rumors of team management firing derrick pumaren , staff, after meeting players, decided defer decision until after next tournament, 2008 pba fiesta conference.

however, on january 28, 2008, announced former san miguel beermen head coach chot reyes replace pumaren coach.

in 2008 fiesta conference, talk n text had 5-game losing streak after starting 7–3 record finish 9–9 record. caused them go through wildcard phase once again; after beating purefoods in fight-marred contest, phone pals dropped @ second wildcard round against sta. lucia realtors deny them of quarterfinal qualification 2007–08 season.

the team announced new name 2008–09 season, talk n text tropang texters. drafted jared dillinger , singapore slingers jayson castro, had left team after team left australia s national basketball league, center robert reyes. texters relied on mark cardona finish 11–7 record, second place , semifinal berth, behind alaska. cardona participated in last 2 plays led finals qualification, beating san miguel beermen in game 6. texters , aces faced off anew in finals, time talk n text winning in 7 games, cardona, alapag , ranidel de ocampo s plays down stretch in game 7.

2009–10 season

during off-season, tropang texters signed nic belasco , dealt 18th draft pick kevin white gin kings. have transferred yousif aljamal , rob reyes barako bull. after lot of deliberation, japeth aguilar ousted burger king whoppers forwarded talk n text tropang texters in exchange 4 first round future picks (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014) , undisclosed amount of money.

tnt walk out against ginebra during game 4 of quarter finals , failed defend title. preparation fiesta conference traded ren-ren ritualo , yancy de ocampo air 21 in exchange jr quinahan, mark yee , aaron aban.while tnt has 8–2 win/lose record, traded pong escobal,ali peek , nic belasco sta lucia realators in exchange of kelly williams,ryan reyes , charles waters.after trade,they had 7-game winning streak,but lost last assignment bmeg gave them 15–3 win/lose record 1st place.in semis, lost tim cone mentored alaska aces 7 games, due foul out talk n text s import shawn daniels.

2010–11 season

the beginning of 2010s saw dominance of talk n text tropang texters, got grand slam in 2010–11 season when winning 2010–11 pba philippine cup , 2011 pba commissioner s cup, runner-up in 2011 pba governors cup, petron champion.

tnt won 2010–2011 philippine cup championship on february 4, 2011 after beating san miguel beermen in game 6 score of 95–82. jayson castro , teammate, jimmy alapag awarded co-mvp of finals. team won championship in 2011 commissioner s cup on may 8, 2011 in epic overtime win against barangay ginebra kings in game 6 of best-of-seven series score of 99–96. finals mvp once more awarded both jayson castro , jimmy alapag. team s 4th championship of 3 achieved under coach chot reyes s tenure.

coming governor s cup, tnt heavy favorites aimed rare triple crown conference. ended @ first place in elimination 6–2 win-loss record, , added 3 wins against 2 losses in semifinal round secure first finals seat, facing depleted petron blaze boosters in full 7 game series started buzzer beater win petron in game 1. shot @ grandslam revived when recovered 3–2 deficit force game 7 lost petron, 85–73 in game 7.

2011–12 pba philippine cup

this first time talk n text , powerade faced each other in finals, since 2003 pba all-filipino cup, talk n text won series in 5 games.

talk n text won championship series, 4–1 becoming first team in league history win back-to-back all-filipino crown after 27 years, since 1985 .

2012–13 pba philippine cup

talk n text defeated rain or shine sweeping series, 4–0 , winning third consecutive philippine cup taking permanent possession of jun bernardino trophy, awarded champions of tournament since 2006–07 season.

2013–14 talk n text tropang texters season

in philippine cup tropang texters qualified in eliminations,finishing 8–6 record, lost san mig coffee mixers in best of 3 quarter finals matches. before playoffs started, talk n text traded sean anthony, rookie eliud poligrates , 2016 first-round pick air21 in exchange niño kg canaleta.

2013–14 pba commissioner s cup

talk n text finished elimination round of 2014 pba commissioner s cup undefeated 9–0 , defeated barangay ginebra san miguel on quarterfinals twice beat advantage in first game , defeated , sweep once again semifinals against former rival rain or shine elasto painters, 3–0 extend streak makes them first team in 34 years enter pba finals undefeated 13–0 (or since crispa went 17–0 enter 1980 all-filipino finals). import richard howell recorded career high 30 rebounds, surpassing previous record of 20, in 85–72 victory on alaska aces in first game texters. defend streak face san mig super coffee mixers on best of 5 series in finals. got first loss mixers on game 1 of finals able bounce on game 2 tie series 1–1 lost again mixers on game 3, 77–75. before game 4 started, awarding ceremony held won richard howell best import , jayson castro best player , texters hoping tie series on game 4 unsuccessful, 100–91, , mixers won championship , series 3–1.

2013–14 pba governors cup

the texters finished elimination round of governors cup solo top seed 7–2 record , earned twice-to-beat advantage on quarterfinals beat barako bull energy in 1 game, 99–84. fought san mig super coffee mixers in best of 5 series in semifinals. lost first , second game of series, forcing do-or-die situation. result, won third , fourth games make tie series @ 2–2. lose mixers , did not make finals, losing series 3–2. despite loss, texters , fans admired import paul harris never-give-up performance team.

2014–15 pba season: rise of jayson castro

on july 9, 2014, prior start of 2014–2015 pba philippine cup, texters former coach norman black named new head coach of meralco bolts while texters former assistant coach jong uichico named new head coach texters next season.

on september 18, 2014, texters started reload roster, acquiring robert labagala barako bull energy reunited former ginebra san miguel coach jong uichico.

on september 22, 2014, texters involved in three-team trade, sending nonoy baclao globalport batang pier in exchange jay washington, rookie harold arboleda nlex road warriors in exchange rookie matt ganuelas, texters’ first-round pick in 2017 rookie draft , second-round pick in 2018 rookie draft. nlex sent kevin alas tnt kg canaleta, blackwater gets larry rodriguez , tnt s 2015 first-round draft pick, tnt gets kevin alas , 2015 first-round draft pick, nlex kg canaleta in 3-team trade.

2014–15 philippine cup

on opening day of pba philippine cup on october 19, 2014, faced barangay ginebra san miguel, lost 20 points, 81–101. on december 5, texters finished last game elimination 8–3 win-loss record when beat san miguel beermen, 107–101, , clinched twice-to-beat advantage quarterfinals.

on december 12 beat barako bull energy in first phase of quarterfinals 105–76 advanced on second phase of quarterfinals. on december 16 beat barangay ginebra san miguel in knock-out game, 83–67, , advanced semifinals face san miguel beermen. texters fought san miguel beermen on best of 7 of semifinals , due lack of legitimate center, got swept beermen, 4–0.

jimmy alapag s retirement/end of jimmy alapag era

on january 9, 2015, texters long-time team captain jimmy alapag formally announced retirement during press conference @ smart araneta coliseum prior second game of 2014–15 pba philippine cup finals between alaska aces , san miguel beermen. however, signed team manager of former, talk n text tropang texters.

2015 pba commissioner s cup

as new team manager jimmy alapag first move bring 2014 pba commissioner s cup best import, richard howell, prepared 2015 pba commissioner s cup. on january 25, 2015, 37-year-old, two-time mvp willie miller, in interview interaksyon.com, said has agreed terms tropang texters, franchise played several seasons in past. on january 28, 2015 texters won first game conference against rain or shine elasto painters, 89–86. on february 18, texters made surprise decision replacing richtard howell ivan johnson, formerly atlanta hawks. on march 22, 2015 texters finished last game elimination 8–3 win-loss record when beat alaska aces, 101–93 , clinched twice-to-beat advantage quarterfinals.

on march 28, 2015 beat barako bull energy 30 points, 127–97 , advanced semifinals once again face purefoods star hotshots, formerly known san mig super coffee mixers, last season in best-of-5 series. on april 11, beat hotshots on semifinals, 3–1, , dethroned hotshots. texters advanced finals face former rival rain or shine elasto painters in best of 7 series. on april 15, 2015 texters won game 1 of finals against rain or shine elasto painters, 99–92. on april 17, 2015, talk n text lost rain or shine in game 2, 108–116, despite jayson castro s effort (scoring career-high 44 points in 9/14 three-point fgs, 3 steals, 3 assist, 3 rebounds). lost again on game 3, 109–97 won on game 4 , game 5, 99–92 , 103–94 , led series 3–2. however, on april 26, lost on game 6 101–93, forcing series finals seven-game series. on april 29, 2015 texters won championship on double overtime, 121–118. jayson castro named best player of conference , team captain ranidel de ocampo named finals mvp.

2015 pba governors cup

tropang tnt logo used during 2016 commissioner s cup

on april 12, 2015 acquired steffphon pettigrew import. on may 15, 2015 acquired former jordan national team playmaker sam daghles asian import upcoming conference. texters lost chance pba governors cup title (the championship have not yet won) after failing make playoffs, 5–6 win-lose record , finishing 10th.