6:45 p.m. — Powerade vs Talk ’N TextGame Wednesday (Smart-Araneta Coliseum)
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Game 1 — TNT def. Powerade 116-100
Game 2 — TNT def. Powerade 102-96
MANILA, Philippines — For Talk ‘N Text, Wednesday night’s game will, for all intents and purposes, be the championship game.
A victory will give the Tropang Texters a 3-0 lead in a PBA best-ofseven basketball title series, a lead no team has ever squandered and a hole no squad has come out of in the history of the country’s most successful professional sports league.
Both coaches know the significance of the encounter with TNT coach Chot Reyes expressing caution against overconfidence while his Powerade counterpart Bo Perasol practically shouting defiance in the face of his team’s back-against-thewall, must-win predicament.
Game 2 is 6:45 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum where a big crowd is expected to see if TNT can wrap it all up, assuming the series follow historical pattern, or Powerade will stay alive and make a series of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
The Tigers appear to be capable of doing that, showing resilience and fighting spirit in Game 2, where TNT had to put up a strong finishing kick to preserve the victory.
For the Tigers, their strong showing was in no small measure due to the return of No. 1 draft pick last year JV Casio who missed Game 1 due to a hamstring pull.
But even with Casio, the Tigers are far from matching the firepower and depth of the Tropang Texters who seemed able to put in fresh legs whenever they needed one.
On the other hand, Powerade only has three players who can be considered in the same plateau as TNT’s frontline.
Having to play practically the entire game, Casio, Marcio Lassiter and Gary David are practically spent during crunch time.
Leading TNT, meanwhile, is Jimmy Alapag whose playmaking and clutch baskets are a sight to behold. To illustrate, his three-point shot less than two minutes left last Monday was ultimately the dagger that snuffed the life out of Powerade.
Then there are Jayson Castro, who has averaged 20 points per game, Larry Fonacier, Ranidel de Ocampo, Harvey Carey, Kelly Willians, Jared Dillinger and the not so surprising Ali Peek whose last-quarter production was timely and decisive.
Reyes hopes to deliver the coup de grace and perhaps avoid matching his worst moment as a coach when he led 2-0 in the 2003 All-Filipino Cup, only to lose four straight games to, ironically, the same team he is now coaching.
“We can’t relax. We can’t take our foot off the pedal,” said Reyes after Game 2. “We’ve got to be ready for Powerade’s comeback. This series will only end if a team wins four games. For us, we need to discipline our minds not to get ahead of ourselves. We have to keep our focus.”
Perasol is equally determined having cemented his intimate knowledge of the game by leading his underdog Powerade past favorite Rain or Shine in the semifinals and over B-Meg in the quarters.
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