2015-16 PBA PH Cup Preview: Barako Bull Energy vs TNT Tropang Texters
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Although both teams are coming from contrasting results, they are both looking to reenergize their campaigns in the Philippine Cup.
Barako is coming off back-to-back defeats to top teams (SMB & ROS), which slid them down the ladder to eighth place. They’ll need to win against TNT here to do two things: pull themselves up and pull the Texters down to just half a game ahead. This will strengthen the Energy’s chances of finishing in the top eight for the next round.
As for TNT, they avoided back-to-back losses themselves with a win over the Elite, who were eld by a red-hot Carlo Lastimosa. TNT’s last four games after this one will be against ROS, SMB, GlobalPort, and Ginebra, so they’ll need to win here to build some much-needed momentum against those very tough assignments.
1. GARCIA + URBIZTONDO: ON-TARGET
– The backcourt duo of RR Garcia and Josh Urbiztondo once again found themselves on-target and waxed hot in their last game, combining for 49 points and 6 triples. They will need to do that again here lest the Energy lose their third game in a row. One other thing they’ll need to do, however, is distribute the ball better since they only had a total of 2 assists the whole game.
Garcia last game: 23pts, 3rebs, 1ast, 1stl, 3 triples.
Urbiztondo last game: 16pts, 1ast, 3 triples.
Garcia stats: 16.4ppg, 3.1rpg, 1.6apg, 1.6 triples per game.
Urbiztondo stats: 10.9ppg, 1.7rpg, 1.9apg, 2.0 triples per game.
2. WILSON WAGING-WAGI!
– Willy Wilson has been having an amazing season so far, and he continued his hot streak against ROS, putting in his third straight double-double and fourth overall this conference. With JC Intal’s production dipping a little bit, BAR will continue to look to Wilson to provide the muscle and the spark from the forward position. He may have his hands full today, though, against Troy Rosario, Mo Tautuaa, Matt Rosser, and Kelly Williams.
Last game: 21pts, 19rebs, 3asts, 2stls, 9/15 FGs.
Stats: 14.7ppg, 11.9rpg, 3.1apg, 54.3 FG%.
*career-highs in pts, rebs, and asts.
3. BARAKO: CLOBBERED ON THE BOARDS
– Barako had pretty good shooting in their last game, but that was offset by their being terribly outworked on the boards. ROS’s bruising frontline completely outplayed the Energy in terms of rebounding, and they look headed for the same result against an equally physical TNT frontcourt. Only Willy Wilson really stepped up big in terms of rebounding, but guys like Mick Pennisi, JC Intal, and Rodney Brondial will have to do better in helping him out.
Last game rebs: BAR 51, ROS 70
*BAR is 2nd to the last in rebs, averaging just 45.1rpg.
4. THE BEST PG IN ASIA
– Jayson Castro recovered from a bad shooting game (vs NLX) by hitting 50% of his shots against the Elite and leading the Texters to their 4th win. With RDO still in sick bay, and top picks Troy Rosario and Mo Tautuaa still finding their footing, Castro remains the spearhead of the Texters. He will need to continue big time production for TNT to upend a dangerous team like the Energy.
Last game: 26pts, 1reb, 6asts, 3stls, 5 triples, 8/16 FGs.
Stats: 22.7ppg, 3.8rpg, 4.0apg, 1.0spg, 2.8 triples per game, 39.5 3pt%.
5. T & T: ROOKIE SENSATIONS
– Top picks Tautuaa and Rosario have been a little inconsistent this season, but in their last two games they’ve been able to impress. Rosario, for one, has put up near double-doubles in each of the last two games, while Tautuaa has seemed much more aggressive than before. If both guys can take advantage of a more shallow BAR frontline, then they should be in for big numbers in this game.
Troy last 2 games: 18.5ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.5apg, 2.5 triples per game, 55.6 3pt%, 59.3 FG%
Troy first 4 games: 9.8ppg, 3.3rpg, 0.3apg, 0.0 triples, 48.6 FG%
Mo last 2 games: 13.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 57.1 FG%
Mo first 4 games: 10.0ppg, 5.8rpg, 51.6 FG%
6. TNT: TWO-WAY BASKETBALL
– One main reason TNT was able to come away with a triumph over BLA was because they played two-way basketball. TNT forced 17 BLA turnovers thanks to 11 steals, but they also did pretty well on offense, assisting on 24 of their 42 field goal makes (57%) and hitting more than 47% of their shots. Without a doubt, coach Jong Uichico will want to see more of that here as they try to move into a position to break into the top 3.
Last game asts: TNT 24, BLA 19
Last game stls: TNT 11, BLA 7
Last game TOs: TNT 12, BLA 17
Last game Pts off TOs: TNT 25, BLA 12
7. KEY MATCH-UP: JC INTAL X MATT ROSSER
– Gilas 3.0 teammates Intal and Rosser will butt heads in this game, and their match-up will be key in terms of determining who prevails. They both have great size and length at the wings, and are great athletic specimens. Intal has a much more polished offensive game, though, while Rosser is a much more tenacious defender. It’s an interesting contrast that should make their match-up and this enitre game all the more interesting. Needless to say, whoever has better numbers gives his team a huge boost to come out with the W. Intal, in particular, needs to bounce back since his last two games have been subpar (only 6.0ppg, 3.0rpg, and 4/19 FGs in the last 2 games).
Intal Last game: 7pts, 4rebs, 2asts, 1blk, 2/12 FGs.
MGR Last game: 8pts, 5rebs, 6asts, 1blk, 2/9 FGs.
Intal Stats: 13.7ppg, 4.4rpg, 1.7apg, 1.7 triples per game, 36.2 FG%
MGR stats: 9.2ppg, 4.2rpg, 2.5apg, 1.0bpg, 42.3 FG%.
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