BY NOLI CORTEZ

TALK N Text coach Chot Reyes doesn’t mind any of his players answering back, most especially if the exchanges are shouted ones.

In last night’s case, however, all was forgiven with import Aaron McGhee after Reyes and his Phone Pals fashioned a cruising 103-92 win over previously unbeaten Red Bull in the Smart PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

"It’s just part of our colorful relationship," Reyes grinned of the incident that happened in the third quarter of the match that turned into a rout early and stayed that way for majority of the game.

"I shouted at him and he shouted back, and later on I asked him if he was ready to play and he said ‘Yes, coach,’" Reyes related. "I don’t mind. Hindi naman ako balat-sibuyas para damdamin iyun and after the game wala na iyun."

McGhee went on to score eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter, finishing what his local teammates started and helping the Phone Pals notch their second straight win and improve to a 2-1 record.

The loss was the first in three games for the Bulls, who, despite the usual brilliance of seven-foot reinforcement Adam Parada, dug themselves a very deep 18-point hole right in the second quarter and played catch-up the rest of the way.

Don Carlos Allado finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 field shooting and also had 11 rebounds while Mark Cardona added 19 and Jay Washington 15 for TNT, but Reyes credited most his charges’ ability to deny Red Bull from playing its usual game.

Parada wound up with 24 points and 13 rebounds and Rich Alvarez, Cyrus Baguio and Michael Robinson each chipped in at least 10 points for Red Bull, which practically bled for its points.

When the Bulls displayed some of their old form and solved some of the TNT puzzle, they managed to trim the gap to just 49-58. That was the closest they could get to, however.

"We had to out-tough Red Bull, both physically and mentally, and I think we were able to come through with flying colors," said Reyes. "We had no match for Parada’s size, so we had to out-quick them on the floor. Our quickness paid dividends."