Sports

OKLAHOMA CITY—Andrew Bynum was right. Close-out games can be easy. The Oklahoma City Thunder stepped all over the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter of their 106-90 Game Five victory on Monday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena, ending the Lakers’ season yet again in the Western Conference semifinals.

It wasn’t as bad as last season’s 36-point blowout loss in Dallas, and there won’t be any carryover suspensions for next season, but the two-championship run the Lakers put together couldn’t have seemed any further in the past.

MERALCO has not beaten Talk ’N Text in the current season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

And with a Tropang Texters side that hardly had a decent practice before the Governors’ Cup and with key players nursing injuries, this could be the best time for the Bolts to finally nail a win against their sister team.

Meralco meets Talk ’N Text in the main game on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, right after the Barangay Ginebra-Air21 match at 5:15 p.m.

BLACKWATER Sports capitalized on a strong first half to dominate Café France, 96-65, on Tuesday in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup at the Treston Gym in Taguig City.

Clark Bautista came off the bench to score 20 points and reserve point guard Jeric Fortuna added 12 for the Elite, who earned a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals by closing the eliminations with a 6-3 mark.