TEXTERS TRY TO GET ON TRACK ANEW, BATANG PIER AIM FOR LANDMARK “W”
ITS current campaign has not been been going as planned for Talk N Text. Yet the Tropang Texters cannot do anything but try to pull their acts together, hopefully against GlobalPort Sunday in another crucial PBA Governors’ Cup match for the two at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We need a win so we will just go out and and give our all,” said coach Norman Black, whose TNT squad has lost two straight and is in danger of not making it among the top eight advancing to the quarterfinals following the nine-game eliminations.
GlobalPort is aiming to follow up on a big 91-88 upset of Alaska the Friday before and well-rested and primed up with a side motivation.
Another win by the Batang Pier would be their third in four games and will match their total victories in their first two conferences with the league.
More important, it pushes the Mikee Romero-owned franchise to at least a share of second-running spot and the prospects are too tantalizingto pass up, as GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi acknowledged.
“Our team is on the rise,” he said. “Hard work on defense is key. Against TNT it will be put to the test. It’s a team that’s tested and I’m sure it will regroup coming off a loss. But I am confident we can match up with them and execute a solid defensive gameplan,” added Baculi.
The return of Gilas Pilipinas heroes Jayson Castro, Larry Fonacier and Ranidel de Ocampo hardly did little to lessen the struggling TNT’s woes as it got waylaid by Meralco, 92-86, just last Friday.
Each did his part in trying to get the Texters on track. Castro finished with 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds, while Fonacier had a decent outing with 11 points. De Ocampo had eight rebounds and four assists but scored only two points on 1-for-10 field shooting.
Additional tinkering is to be expected from TNT, especially in picking up the scoring slack should Tony Mitchell once again find the going rough as what happened against Meralco.
“We are constantly adjusting because of the awkwardness of our conference, but we will just try to improve every game we get back to playing the way we know we can,” said Black. (NC)
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