CRUCIAL TIFF FOR NO. 2
The Petron Blaze – Talk ‘N Text rivalry rages once again as the Boosters and the Tropang Texters tangle for solo second place Saturday in the 2014 PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Tipoff is at 5:45 p.m.
Petron would like nothing more than an end to its two-game skid. That, however, won’t come easy as the Boosters will continue to miss the services of big man June Mar Fajardo, who is out for at least six weeks after spraining his MCL.
The Kraken has been posting MVP-like stats in the eight games he played, averaging 15.5 points and 17.25 rebounds to go with three blocks.
In Fajardo’s absence, Arwind Santos and Doug Kramer will once again have their hands full down low, but both have showed that they can hold fort for Petron as they outrebounded the much taller Ginebra squad in their last outing, 53-48, with 21 coming off the offensive boards.
Unfortunately, the Blaze Boosters dropped that one, 83-97, to fall to 7-2.
On the other hand, Talk ‘N Text will finally parade a complete lineup with Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes back in commission.
“Definitely both of them will be playing in our next game,” said coach Norman Black after their 87-82 win over Air21 last Sunday.
The Tropang Texters (6-2) will be shooting for their fourth straight win.
They would likewise like to avenge their 63-77 setback to the Blaze Boosters on November 23, when Santos, Kramer, Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Lutz all scored in double figures to run away with the game as early as the first half. (RL)
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