TEXTERS, ACES ON THEIR TOES
TALK N Text is one team that cannot be trifled with, especially with its ability to hurt the opponent on both ends of the court.
That explains why Alaska coach Luigi Trillo cannot stress the importance of vigilance enough to his Aces going to the start Wednesday of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals duel with the Tropang Texters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We cannot expect to get our feet wet and not be ready. They will pounce on every breakdown we have,” said Trillo on the eve of the match.
“Talk N Text is a solid team, a character team. They are well-coached,” he added. “If there is one team that is consistently good and works hard it’s Talk N Text.”
The series is a best-of-seven, but the opening match is projected to have both teams already throwing haymakers and not the mere jabs the opener of such a long duel entails.
The reason is simple: The team that draws first blood puts the burden of adjustment on the other and there will only be a day’s rest in-between the first and second games.
Alaska is only one of two teams which beat TNT in the eliminations and this fact, coupled with some able Aces snipers in Jayvee Casio, Cyrus Baguio and Mark Baracael, prompts Texters coach Norman Black to also admonish his players to be on their toes.
“It will be a challenge for us, considering they are one of two teams that beat us in the elims. Defense will be the key because they are one of the better shooting teams in the league, especially from the three-point line,” said Black.
In that 94-92 win last Nov. 2, the Aces went 12-for-23 from beyond the arc, with Casio making three of his triples in the last quarter alone before driving in for the game-winning basket.
Trillo knows things could get as dicey for his charges as that initial encounter.
“We all know they are a defensive team first. We can’t bring our B-Game and expect an upset,” he stated, before pointing out TNT’s other assets on the other end. “They really attack the mismatch and try to tire out key guys from our team by posting them up and making them go through multiple screens.” (NC)
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