TEXTERS OUT TO FOIL MIXERS ANEW
TALK N Text has shown its capacity to come up with the kind of game coach Norman Black wants.
It’s now time to see if the Tropang Texters can continue to foil San Mig Super Coffee’s bid to put a quick ending to their PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals series Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Notwithstanding an 86-112 drubbing last Monday, the Mixers still lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and would sure be bristling to bounce back and close the deal, or else see momentum swinging over to the Texters.
Just how San Mig has gathered its wits together after admittedly being overrun by a rampaging TNT crew is the biggest question nagging supporters of the Grand Slam-seeking defending champion.
“Sometimes you can’t get out the way of the oncoming train. Talk N Text played with a lot of pride and it showed up in the score,” assessed Mixers coach Tim Cone.
“Now our job is to put that one away, move forward, and get ready for Game 4,” added Cone.
Despite avoiding the Mixers’ broom there was little celebration in the TNT camp and understandably so.
“We are still in survival mode so our attitude will be to get one more win so we can put some pressure on them,” said Black.
“Simply, it’s all or nothing for us so we will go out and fight for our lives.”
In Game 3 TNT did in astounding fashion and Black was undeniably pleased with the way his charges gave shape to the victory as early as the second quarter, when his team outscored San Mig, 32-16, to totally raze a 20-21 deficit and assume full control.
The onslaught continued into the second half and the Texters even led by a whopping 92-64 after opening up the payoff period with a 7-0 surge.
One critical adjustment Black admitted to doing was to use his entire 15-man lineup.
“I was sticking to a 10-man rotation and it wasn’t working, so I figured out I’ll give everybody a chance to play tonight and see what happens,” said Black in the post-game interview.
“I’m very pleased with the players I called because they responded well. It was a decision just to let everybody play and see who’s going to play well and keep them on the floor,” added Black.
The dividends were readily apparent as all but one of the players Black fielded scored, with his bench accounting for 56 points. Only Noy Baclao emerged scoreless but he did not launch any attempt.
Black’s former player at Ateneo could just have thrown the ball up and it would have probably gone through the hoop on that particular night.
The Texters made 42 of 83 field goal attempts, including 14-of-32 from beyond the arc, compared to the Mixers’ 30-for-77 clip.
Black said it is all because his players finally followed his order of dishing that extra pass for a better shot. “The ball was really moving from hand-to-hand. Nobody was really holding it,” he said after his charges emerged with a 32-18 advantage in the assists department.
“It’s one of the things we’ve been preaching the entire year, particularly in this series, but we have not been able to get it done. But tonight, we really played as a team which is very important for us. We really have to have ball movement to have the chance of winning against San Mig.”
Cone said he is foremost among those looking at how his team recoups. “It will be a great test of our character,” he stated. (NC)
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