TEXTERS GUN FOR TWICE-TO-BEAT EDGE
Talk n Text seeks an automatic Top Two finish while Alaska pursues one of the three remaining available spots in the quarterfinals as the two teams face off in the third to the last play date of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
Going to their crucial 5:15 p.m. setto, the Texters are tied for second with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 7-3 while the Aces are in a precarious spot at seventh with a 4-5 card.
The Texters need to beat the Aces to be sure of a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals as a loss may mean relegation to a best-of-three series in the Final Eight.
The Aces face a tougher task, needing to sweep their last two games to salvage a seat in the Last Eight.
A split of the two games would be risky as the Aces have inferior quotients versus the GlobalPort Batang Pier, the Barako Bull Energy and the Kia Carnival.
After tangling with Talk n Text Sunday, Alaska tackles Barangay Ginebra in another critical tiff in the end of the elims Wednesday.
The Aces and their import Damion James hung in the fight for the playoffs after winning their last two games against the Blackwater Elite (82-68) and the Meralco Bolts (108-103).
The Texters, meanwhile, closed in on a Top Two windup in easing out the San Miguel Beermen, 113-93, on Wednesday.
“It’s good that we’re able to get the same effort from the players we had (in a triple-overtime loss to Purefoods). Mas matindi pa ang willingness to win,” said TnT coach Jong Uichico after they got past the Beermen.
Uichico said they don’t follow the team standings as they don’t want burdened with extra pressure.
“The mindset is just to win. Ayaw namin isipin ang quotient,” he said. (SB)
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