“WE JUST GOT OUR ASS KICKED”
That’s how coach Jong Uichico described Talk ‘N Text’s 86-109 loss to San Miguel in Game 1 of their best-of-7 semifinal series on Friday.
The loss, the most lopsided playoffs defeat for the franchise, was a product of a poor second quarter, where the Tropang Texters shot a paltry 7 percent from the field and was outscored 33-9, enabling the Beermen to run away with the game.
Though many people pin the blame on fatigue, but Uichico knows it’s part of the game.
“We knew na we’ll struggle a little bit. We played consecutive hard games and they had a time to rest, but it’s not an excuse, especially for this kind of game,” he said.
Alex Cabagnot’s entry into the Beermen fold also affected Talk ‘N Text’s gameplan. Two weeks ago, the Texters scored a 107-101 win over the Beermen, who had yet to trade for Cabagnot then.
“Alex’s impact is very big. It’s a big turnaround with Cabagnot in the game,” Uichico said.
But the Tropang Texters coach would not be deterred, as he said, “We’re in the semifinals. We just have to go back to the drawing board, see what went wrong, and see if we can make some adjustments, and hopefully, those adjustments pay off and we can come out with a win on Sunday.”
“It’s a series naman eh. That’s how it is. You play one bad game, you make sure you make up in the next game, and then just come out with a little bit more energy.” (RL)
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