TEXTERS GO FOR JUGULAR
TALK N Text may just be a step away from its familiar place in the PBA Philippine Cup finals but coach Norman Black does not want to take any chances.
That’s why Black can’t stress enough the need for his Tropang Texters to go all out and close the deal with the Alaska Aces Friday in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal duel at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Defending champion TNT, which is actually looking for a three-peat, leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and can advance to a third straight title duel in the league’s most prestigious tourney should they follow up their 99-95 victory last Sunday.
“We will try our best to finish it, but we know there is no quit in the Alaska team,” said Black on the eve of the match.
It should be a very tall order, considering the Aces are also expected to pull out all stops in their bid to extend the series into a deciding game.
For Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, it’s all beyond the technical and material aspects of the game at this point.
“It’s not about the talent on the other side at this point. We have pieces as well here,” he said. “We cannot make excuses.”
Black knows fully well how dangerous Alaska can be.
On Rizal Day TNT shook off a sluggish start and posted as much as a 63-49 third quarter lead, only to be severely threatened by a spirited Alaska comeback.
The Aces pulled within In 95-98 and even regained possession before Calvin Abueva let all their efforts go for naught by losing the ball off a drive when they had needed a triple in the last 12 seconds of play.
Trillo said the blame is on the entire team after letting an early eight-point lead vanish and not doing the job done on some of the game’s departments, like hustle plays.
“After that 10-2 lead it was all TNT,” noted Trillo. “I believe we are capable of a much better effort than we did in Game 5. We lost the boards (44-51) and they were quicker to the ball.”
At least that same kind of effort is needed anew, according to Black.
“The keys are the same. Control our defensive rebounds, play better defense on their 3-point shooters, slow down (Sonny) Thoss in the post and try to keep the game at a fast tempo,” he stated.
The four-day break should also help refresh the teams’ weary legs, especially the more seasoned ones in TNT.
“We have the older team,” pointed out Black. “It (break) may help us more than them.” (NC)
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