They’re back & they
brought the whole Tropa
by rick olivares pic by nuki sabio
When Talk ‘N Text had to dig deep into its bench and bag of tricks
(read: wellspring of experience) to defeat a rapidly improving Air21, 95-91,
quite a few observers must have thought, “The Tropang Texters just aren’t the
club they were.”
Since winning last season’s Philippine Cup for a third straight
year, they’ve gradually been worn out with its commitments to the national team
as well as crippling injuries. They just didn’t look like their old deadly
selves. Was the dynasty over?
In the meantime, San Mig Coffee has been carving out one on its own
as they won two consecutive conference titles signifying a possible power shift
in the league. Could any team stop the Coffee Mixers? They were always a very
good team but behind Tim Cone – they looked unbeatable. Since Cone took over
they have won three titles and allowed the American coach to leapfrog past one
of the PBA’s most hallowed records that is the most number of PBA titles won
that was 15 by the great Baby Dalupan. Now it’s Cone’s and for him to chart and
continue to define. The incredible thing about San Mig Coffee’s last title run
was they were languishing at the bottom of the standings in the last Philippine
Cup and looked to be headed for an early vacation. They got hot and began taking
down higher-seeded teams. Now when San Mig gets on a roll, no one can stop
them. Not even Rain or Shine that generally plays them well. And so Cone’s
wards are once more favorites to annex the Commissioner’s Cup.
Talk ‘N Text in the meantime have reloaded with some new faces
getting prominent playing time under Norman Black. That includes veteran Danny
Seigle who is experiencing a rebirth with the club and KG Canaleta who is
filling in for swingman Jared Dillinger who was moved over to Meralco.
Some of Black’s old college hands from Ateneo have also gotten a
new lease on life with Talk ‘N Text and are contributing – Nonoy Baclao, Jai
Reyes, and Eric Salamat.
As the conference unfolded, the Tropa began to eke out one victory
after another. It didn’t matter how they accomplished it. They won big (by 23
against Meralco) or by the slimmest of margins (by one against GlobalPort). The
Tropang Texters were getting the job done and now they’re at a robust and an
unlikely 9-0 to sweep the elimination round; a full three games ahead of
closest pursuer San Miguel that is at 6-2.
How big a feat is that 9-0 record? The last team to accomplish an
elimination round sweep was Presto that went 10-0 in the All-Filipino
tournament of 1990. What made that even more impressive was TNT accomplished
that without import Richard Howell who sat out the match because of a shoulder
injury. Outside the freak injury to Howell, TNT assistant coach Sandy
Arespacochaga noted that, “Everyone is healthy.”
How good is Black’s team right now?
They’ve got three players in the top ten in terms of points.
Howell is fifth in the league with a 23.1 average. Ranidel De
Ocampo has been playing better after battling nagging injuries from the lack of
rest. He’s currently eighth in scoring with a 16.5 scoring average. Jayson
Castro is tenth with 15.2 points per outing.
On the boards, Howell is continuing to do what he did best while at
North Carolina State – lead and haul them down. He’s pacing the league with a
21.1 average.
Talk ‘N Text’s speedy point guard duo of Jimmy Alapag and Castro
are also doing their share in ball distribution. Alapag is fourth in the assist
column with a 5.7 average while Castro is sixth with 4.1 dimes a match.
If you further want to underscore Howell’s importance, he’s further
getting it done on defense by averaging 1.7 steals per game; that’s good for
third in this conference. That’s even better than TNT’s acknowledged ball thief
in Castro who is ninth in the standings with a 1.1 average.
Added Arespacochaga about Howell: “Richard Howell is a good fit for
the team. He defends, rebounds, and scores too. He complements the other
members of the team. Everyone has embraced their role from our captain, Jimmy
Alapag all the way to our practice players. They want to bounce back from last
conference. They are focused and have all bought into what Coach Norman told
the team from day one.”
To further illustrate that all-hands-on-deck mentality, several TNT
players are crowding the stat sheet chipping in their own contributions.
In three point shooting, they’ve got three players in the top ten
with De Ocampo, Larry Fonacier, and Alapag going in order – sixth, seventh, and
eighth for a total of 36 triples recorded after seven matches. And Canaleta
isn’t even on that list… just yet.
In their last win – that one-point thriller against GlobalPort –
the Batang Pier’s Evan Brock missed a free throw with 1.9 seconds left that
would have tied the match and sent it to an extension. If Brock and company are
botching their freebies from 15 feet away, Talk ‘N Text are making the most of
it. The top two best free throw shooters in the league are De Ocampo and
Fonacier. Castro and Alapag bring up the ninth and tenth spots in the league.
“Sabi ng iba, hindi na kami gutom,” said Castro after their 85-82
win over Rain or Shine, another squeaker. “Hindi pa kami nagsasawa manalo ng
championship. Gusto pa namin.”
And that attitude has brought them back to the top of the league.
At least in this elimination phase.
Talk ‘N Text’s record this
Commissioner’s Cup elimination round:
92-91 vs. GlobalPort
85-82 vs. Rain or Shine
81-75 vs. San Mig Coffee
94-87 vs. Barangay Ginebra
91-68 vs. Meralco
101-96 vs. Barako Bull Energy Cola
107-99 vs. San Miguel
95-91 vs. Air21
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