Looking at Game 3 of the Philippine Cup Finals Talk 'N Text vs Powerade

Talk 'N Text's Ryan Reyes' stretch and pektus layup over Powerade's Doug Kramer makes it 109-106.

Looking at Game 3 of the Philippine Cup Finals

Talk ‘N Text 133 vs. Powerade 126

by rick olivares with pics by brosi gonzales and nuki sabio

JV Casio's game-tying trey for OT.

When Jayvee Casio filched the ball on a botched inbounds play by Talk ‘N Text (where all they had to do was get the ball in play and wait for the inevitable foul and free throws to come) to hit a one-pump three-ball for a 121-all score and send Game 3 into overtime, I thought, “Along with all those earlier big plays, this is a special game and I’m glad to have witnessed it.”

All match long, I was jotting down notes on those big plays. Tit for tat.

There was Ryan Reyes’ steal of Sean Anthony’s lazy inbound to end the first half of play while coming from their defensive side of the court then whipping the ball around to Jimmy Alapag who hit a trey from some 25 feet out for a 63-60 lead.

Big shots and big plays. Maybe this game is going to be a classic, I jotted down.

And the third quarter was incandescent. There were seven three-pointers made in those 12 minutes – three from TNT and four from Powerade. And there were three conventional three-points plays from the former’s Kelly Williams and the latter’s Gary David and Sean Anthony.  Both sides would answer one another but the Tigers finished the quarter strong and went up 93-87.

Powerade finished the odd numbered quarters strong while Talk ‘N Text took the even ones. The extension was up for grabs. Unfortunately, the long minutes played by the starters of Powerade told on them. They had nothing left in the tank for the extra five minutes as TNT flat out killed them in OT.

Gary David – 48 minutes (36 points)

Marcio Lassiter – 45 minutes (25 points)

Sean Anthony – 40 points (25 points and 11 rebounds)

JV Casio – 41 minutes (18 points and 11 assists)

Doug Kramer – 42 minutes (14 points and 23 rebounds)

TNT’s depth helped in terms of rotation and firepower. But incredibly, Powerade still held them at bay with their frenetic style of play.

Key Match-up: Gary David vs. Larry Fonacier

I thought the match up between Gary David and TNT’s Larry Fonacier was crucial because of the TNT swingman’s production. We all know we are getting a ton of points from David but Fonacier made him work on the defensive end and that saw the King Tiger tuckered out in the endgame. And Fonacier led his team in scoring so you know these weren’t like garbage points. He was mixing it up.

Look at the match up.

David was 11-26 from the field and 11-12 from the free throw line.

Fonacier was a more economical at 7-13 from the field and 7-8 from the stripe.

Powerade is having a phenomenal conference where they looked ordinary in the first few weeks before they found their groove (when Casio got healthy). Their run reminds me so much of the runs of the Golden State Warriors in 2006-07 and the Memphis Grizzlies last year. Of the two NBA squads, it was G-State that made the most out of the three-ball as a weapon. They lead the association in three-pointers attempted and were third in made connections that season.

Powerade is averaging 9.4 three-pointers per game this conference and in Game 3 they hit for 16-36 (44%). The three-pointer is such a crucial weapon in their arsenal. They have a lot of players who can hit that – David, Lassiter, Casio, Anthony, Celino Cruz, Rudy Lingganay, and the seldom used Josh Vanlandingham.

I’d like to point out that the Tigers are facing a team with loads of experience. There were mental mistakes such as Anthony’s inbound to end the first half and Lassiter’s foul on Fonacier’s desperation three to beat the buzzer (the TNT swingman hit 2-3 FTs that made it 101-97, Powerade.

But Talk ‘N Text. Just attempting a repeat; making the finals for the fourth straight conference is an incredible task/achievement. Who said this team is not hungry? They answered head coach Chot Reyes’ question about hunger for sure.

Key match-up: Ranidel de Ocampo vs. Sean Anthony/Doug Kramer

Ranidel de Ocampo (21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists) made a nice comebacker in the extension after his inbound boo boo that led to Casio’s trey. He hit a triple and was good on two free throws as the Tropa finished their tired foes by outscoring them 12-5. The Tigers’ first bucket of overtime came after two minutes and 42 seconds of play.

De Ocampo like Anthony, has an outside shot although the Canadian has a quicker first step to the basket (not to mention his hustle). The TNT big man outscored the Tigers duo 17-12 in the game’s final 17 minutes. With the frontline of Powerade in foul trouble, TNT repeatedly sent the ball down low for de Ocampo to fish a foul and get to the stripe.

But Anthony and Kramer feasted on the boards. 

No PBA team has come back from a 3-0 hole. There have been 11 teams that have been dealt with that deficit. Alaska nearly accomplished that as they won two after being down 3-0 but Gordon’s Gin wrapped it up in Game 6 (with Chris King as their import).