SOURCE: GMANEWS
Talk ‘N Text tries to close out the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven title series when it faces an embattled San Miguel in Friday night’s Game 6 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Aiming to wrap up the best-of-seven title series, Tropang Texters coach Chot Reyes is bracing for a total war when they face the back-against-the-wall Beermen.
“We know they will come out hard on Friday," he said. “And we expect them to play even better than the last time."
By that, Reyes meant no more 4-of-19 shooting for San Miguel in the fourth period, a horrible showing from the floor that saw the league’s winningest team being held down to only 13 points.
By that, Reyes meant too, a better offensive job from San Miguel starters Danny Ildefonso and Alex Cabagnot, who were held to a combined nine points in the Beermen’s 77-99 Game 5 loss.
Cabagnot finished with only two points on a paltry 1-of-9 shooting.
And of course, Reyes expects the Beermen to play better as a team after being beaten in the assists department, 28-17.
But Reyes and his Tropang Texters will be ready. “We’ll just try to put together another good 48 minutes on Friday and see what happens."
If Talk ‘N Text does play another good 48 minutes, the Tropang Texters may well be on their way to winning the franchise’s third all-Filipino crown after the 2003 and 2008 seasons – the last of which the team won under Reyes.
San Miguel, of course, has other things in mind.
Despite being down 2-3 in the series, the Beermen still believe they can pull this one off and win a league-record 19th championship.
“Hindi pa naman tapos ang lahat (It’s not yet over)," said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin. “Down nga kami 0-2 tapos nanalo kami ng dalawang sunod. Kaya naming talunin ang Talk ‘N Text. Kaya naming gawin uli na manalo ng back-to-back. (We’re down 0-2 but we won two straight. We can beat Talk ‘N Text back-to-back. We can do it again)."
For that to happen, the Beermen definitely have to play with more passion and energy, something which Agustin said his team didn’t have in that 22-point Game 5 blowout.
“Mas gusto nilang (Texters) manalo kesa sa amin (Talk ‘N Text wanted the game more)," said Agustin. “Outhustled kami. Sa rebounds lang, nakikita ko. Outworked talaga kami. Hindi namin na-match ‘yung evergy level nila. (We we’re outhusled. I could see it in the number of rebounds. We were outworked. We failed to match their energy level)."
Once again, the backcourt tandem of Jimmy Alapag and Jason Castro did the most damage against the Beermen.
Alapag scored 16 points – 12 coming in Talk ‘N Text’s big 38-point second-quarter explosion, while Castro added 17. The two also combined for 18 assists, one more than San Miguel’s total output as a team.
“We know they will come out hard on Friday," he said. “And we expect them to play even better than the last time."
By that, Reyes meant no more 4-of-19 shooting for San Miguel in the fourth period, a horrible showing from the floor that saw the league’s winningest team being held down to only 13 points.
By that, Reyes meant too, a better offensive job from San Miguel starters Danny Ildefonso and Alex Cabagnot, who were held to a combined nine points in the Beermen’s 77-99 Game 5 loss.
Cabagnot finished with only two points on a paltry 1-of-9 shooting.
And of course, Reyes expects the Beermen to play better as a team after being beaten in the assists department, 28-17.
But Reyes and his Tropang Texters will be ready. “We’ll just try to put together another good 48 minutes on Friday and see what happens."
If Talk ‘N Text does play another good 48 minutes, the Tropang Texters may well be on their way to winning the franchise’s third all-Filipino crown after the 2003 and 2008 seasons – the last of which the team won under Reyes.
San Miguel, of course, has other things in mind.
Despite being down 2-3 in the series, the Beermen still believe they can pull this one off and win a league-record 19th championship.
“Hindi pa naman tapos ang lahat (It’s not yet over)," said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin. “Down nga kami 0-2 tapos nanalo kami ng dalawang sunod. Kaya naming talunin ang Talk ‘N Text. Kaya naming gawin uli na manalo ng back-to-back. (We’re down 0-2 but we won two straight. We can beat Talk ‘N Text back-to-back. We can do it again)."
For that to happen, the Beermen definitely have to play with more passion and energy, something which Agustin said his team didn’t have in that 22-point Game 5 blowout.
“Mas gusto nilang (Texters) manalo kesa sa amin (Talk ‘N Text wanted the game more)," said Agustin. “Outhustled kami. Sa rebounds lang, nakikita ko. Outworked talaga kami. Hindi namin na-match ‘yung evergy level nila. (We we’re outhusled. I could see it in the number of rebounds. We were outworked. We failed to match their energy level)."
Once again, the backcourt tandem of Jimmy Alapag and Jason Castro did the most damage against the Beermen.
Alapag scored 16 points – 12 coming in Talk ‘N Text’s big 38-point second-quarter explosion, while Castro added 17. The two also combined for 18 assists, one more than San Miguel’s total output as a team.
