BACK ON TOP
As many expected, Talk ‘N Text has found its way once again to the top of the standings.
Even after encountering import woes which saw them play with import Othyus Jeffers for one game, no import on the next, and with replacement import Rodney Carney for the next three, the Tropang Texters have been on a three-game run, and are now tied with San Mig Coffee at the top with a 4-1 slate.
And for coach Norman Black, a lot of it is due to the locals stepping up.
“It was a good job by my local players,” Black said on the heels of their 102-91 win over Air21 last Monday. “But we still need a lot of support from our import.”
Ranidel de Ocampo led the scoring for TNT with his 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field to go with his seven rebounds, as four other locals hit the double-digits for the Tropa.
But the Gilas mainstay expressed his dissatisfaction with their import’s performance.
“Kailangan kasi bilang import, dapat marami ka ring magagawa. Sana sa mga susunod na laro, mas marami na syang maayos na magawa,” RDO said.
Though he didn’t want to, de Ocampo can’t help but compare Carney to Jeffers, as the team already got the feel of the latter’s game before his contractual issues cropped up.
That doesn’t mean, however, that de Ocampo is already giving up on Carney,
He said, “Bilang import, hindi talaga sya ganung ka-dominante sa loob. Pero sana maka-adjust sya at ma-adapt nya yung laro sa PBA.”
Turning his sights to the game, the shooter said that he’s just happy that at this halfway point of the conference, TNT has already primed itself at the top with its early wins.
“Maganda ngayon yung resulta nung game para sa amin kasi nasa taas kami ngayon ng standings,” de Ocampo said.
“Yun talaga ang gusto natin, kahit sinong team, gustong mapunta dun sa ibabaw kasi mabilis lang ‘tong conference na ‘to kaya hangga’t maaari, manalo ka na ng manalo para mauna ka na.” (RL)
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