BRACING FOR THE WORST
THE status of a couple of key San Mig Super Coffee players remains hanging in the air, but Talk N Text coach Norman Black is not one to leave anything to chance.
That is why Black can’t stress enough to his Tropang Texters the need to crank up their game a notch when they tangle anew with the Mixers Saturday in their PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
San Mig took a 92-88 overtime decision in the best-of-five duel’s opener last Thursday and Black knows it is extremely imperative his charges bounce back or find themselves in a very deep hole.
“No question Game 2 is a must win situation for us,” said Black. “We cannot afford to go down two games.”
What should make Black and the rest of TNT upbeat is the fact Mixers James Yap and Joe Devance are nursing injuries on their left toe and back, respectively, which may keep them out of Game 2.
Yap aggravated the injury midway in the fourth period of Game 1 with Devance following suit a few minutes later that kept him out of the extension.
With PJ Simon, out since the one-game quarterfinals against San Miguel Beer with a back problem, also a big question mark the remaining players under coach Tim Cone have their work cut out for them.
How they did step up in the opener already pleased Cone. “We’re just a team of attrition right now,” he said. “We just have to battle our way in and, with the guys we have, they’re doing a great job just by battling and grinding,”
Black is prepared for the eventuality the Mixers would be complete, but emphasizes the need for his Texters to do their own collective part.
“It’s important that we play tough, intense basketball for 48 minutes and execute well in the endgame, both offensively and defensively, because San Mig has shown the ability to finish strong in games,” said Black.
This fact was displayed anew last Thursday, when the Mixers overhauled a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to force OT on an Allein Maliksi triple, before Mark Barroca, Marc Pingris, Alex Mallari and Marqus Blakely combined in a sustained charge that gave them a 91-83 spread in the extra period.
Stopping San Mig’s incursions through Blakely and Pingris is foremost among TNT’s concerns.
“Interior defense will be our number one priority,” stated Black.
There is also the big question of whether the usual Paul Harris would show up Saturday.
Jayson Castro and Ranidel de Ocampo did their part in Game 1 but Harris visibly struggled after he scored just 17 in Game 1, way below his 30.6 ppg norm in his first five games. (NC)
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