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Talk ‘N Text forces Game 7

Sunday, 08 February 2009

THE player they used to call “Man Mountain” finally rose to the occasion for Talk N Text. Mac-Mac Cardona and Jimmy Alapag came up with their usual games, but it was Ali Peek shining most that spelled the big difference in the Tropang Texters’ 99-94 win over the Alaska Aces Sunday to force a deciding game in their KFC PBA Philippine Cup championship series at the Araneta Coliseum. “We challenged Ali before the game,” related TNT coach Chot Reyes. “(Sonny) Thoss was kicking his behind the whole series and we asked him to meet the challenge. “He did. He came up strong, he came up big.” Peek, who averaged only 4.2 points and as many rebounds in the first six games of the series, wound up with personal conference highs of 17 points and 16 rebounds to complement Cardona’s gamehigh 23 points and Alapag’s 21 and six assists. Five of Peek’s points came in the fourth quarter, including a 12-foot jumper and a charity that made it a 97-92 count in the last 24.1 seconds that proved enough to quash Alaska’s last-minute surge. “Ali’s capable of coming up with big games like tonight,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone. “I’ve coached him for a number of years and when he’s ripe he can always come up big. We actually expected him to explode earlier in the series, but tonight he got into his rhythm and they stuck with him.” Game 2 hero Willie Miller had 22 points and seven assists and three other Aces had at least 13 points each. But still, Cone lamented his team’s mental preparation, blaming it for a poor stretch starting late in the first period and lasting up to the third that caused them to trail by 59-78. It was in direct contrast to what Reyes stated. “We came into this game ready to play 96 minutes,” he said, referring to the amount of time covering two games. “Now the first half is over and we just have to play another 48 minutes on Wednesday.” It seemed Alaska was ready to wrap the series up after charging back from as many as 19 points down in the third quarter to within 94-97, off Thoss’ layup in the last 14.2 seconds. But Harvey Carey capped a 10-point, 11-rebound performance with a charity that proved to be the game’s final count as Alaska muffed its offensive thrusts inside the last 12 seconds. The deciding game of the Finals, supported by Alaska, Dickies, Talk N Text, Solar Sports, Gateway Cineplex-10 and Araneta Center, is set at 7 p.m. Wednesday also at the Big Dome. Based on Game 6, the spectators are in for a perfect pre-Valentine treat. Cardona’s floater and Carey’s layup capped TNT’s prolonged surge from a 54-52 count, giving the Texters a 78-59 bulge that prompted many of their fans to start looking forward to a deciding game on Wednesday. Not the Alaska diehards, however, and their hopes were further fanned when the Aces trimmed the deficit to just 13 points after the third period before going on an 11-4 tear, capped by Fonacier’s triple, to make it a very manageable 76-82 deficit. Devance’s layup off TNT’s five-second inbounding violation brought Alaska within 92-94. Overall, 11 of 19 teams which took a 3-2 lead in the a championship duel went on to finish the series in six games and TNT was trying to forge only the 23rd Game 7 in PBA history, the fourth straight in the Finals and 17th overall. The Texters’ steely resolve to shed that back-to-the-wall image was evident in the first 24 minutes, leading by much as 43-35 before taking the half at 52-45. Tony dela Cruz was a perfect 6-of-6, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, in the first 24 minutes, but as a team Alaska shot only 18-of-42 from the field compared to TNT’s 20-of-40. Alapag was the spark that enabled the Texters to get off to a hot start, missing only one of five shots for 10 points and got a lot of help from his co-starters. After being beaten soundly off the boards in a 93-95 loss last Friday, Reyes decided on a big starting lineup for only the third time in the series as he put in Ranidel de Ocampo alongside Peek. The two frontliners combined for 18 points, with Peek also corralling what was already a gamehigh eight rebounds at the break. Even Ritualo got into the act, firing eight points in the second period that helped TNT peel away from a 35-all count.(NCo) The scores: Talk n Text 99 – Cardona 23, Alapag 21, Peek 17,de Ocampo 10, Carey 10, Dillinger 9, Ritualo8, Castro1, de Ocampo Y.0. Alaska 94 – Miller 22, De Vance 18,Dela Cruz 15, Thoss 13,Fonacier 8, Hugnatan 7, Ferriols 7, Tenorio 4. Quarters: 30-26, 52-45, 78-65, 99-94

BOTH CAMPS OPTIMISTIC OF MAKING IT ALL THE WAY

Game 5 Friday at the Astrodome Friday, 06 February 2009 Alaska coach Tim Cone readily dismisses the notion that the odds appear to have gone against the Aces, who have lost two games in succession. "Why would it be?" the Alaska coach asked He said it should not come as a surprise that Talk N' Text came back strong in Games 3 and 4 to tie the series because in the first place, "this is the way a championship should be. We are here to compete, to put our best on the floor." Cone said he is still confident the series will end in their favor and his troops share his optimism. Alaska won Games 1 and 2 and records show that 23 of 27 teams that took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Finals went on to win the series. TNT coach Chot Reyes doesn't seem alarmed by those records. "There's no more secrets and no more surprises for both camps. It's now a battle of wills. This series will be decided by which team wants it more," Reyes said. Game 5 of the 2008-09 KFC PBA Philippine Cup Finals is set at 7:00 p.m. Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome. The disappearance of LA Tenorio in Games 3 and 4 after a superb performance in the first two games obviously is felt by the team and the inability of Willie Miller, named Best Player of the Conference, to take over and lead the team hurt the Aces. Tenorio, who averaged 22 points and eight assists in the first two games, went scoreless in Game 3 and managed just eight points in Game 4. Miller is averaging 12 points in the series, down from his 16 points average in the semifinals. Cone attributed their loss in Game 3 to exhaustion, saying the toll of playing eight tough games dating back to their semifinal series with dethroned champion Sta. Lucia had sapped his troops' energy. That wasn't the case in Game 4. "It was a close game. We had our chances. But we couldn't hit our shots," offered Cone, who is one game away from becoming just the second coach in the league to record 600 wins after the legendary Baby Dalupan, who has 601 wins. Noticeably, the Tropang Texters are beating the Aces with the kind of game that has become the foundation of their success – D-E-F-E-N-S-E. Since shifting its focus on defense, TNT has held the Alaska to 73 and 98 points respectively the past two games. It marked just the second time that TNT has held an opponent below 100 points in the playoffs since its high-scoring semifinal showdown with San Miguel. "The way were looking at it now, defense is keying our wins. If we could keep it we'll be in good shape," Reyes said. "But Friday boils down to which team has gas left in the tank." (DBC)

talk 'n text vs alaska aces

TNT DEFENSE KEY IN PIVOTAL GAME 4
Cone expects highly-energized Tenorio to show up
Tuesday, 03 February 2009
Apparently, the Talk N Text Tropang Texters can play the kind of defense that suffocates opponents to death. Question is: Can they keep it up?

After being soundly beaten in Games One and Two, things finally worked well for the Tropang Texters in Game Three, enabling them to earn their first victory in the series – a 92-73 blowout over the Alaska Aces that kept them from falling into a deeper hole.

With their backs against the wall, the Tropang Texters came up with a lot of surprises Sunday.

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BURGER KING TESTS YOUNG NATIONALS
Guiao vs Toroman in Finals curtainraiser
Tuesday, 03 February 2009

The worthiness of the young men in training for the mission of their lives – to qualify to the 2012 London Olympics – undergoes scrutiny from no less than national men's coach Yeng Guiao Wednesday during an exhibition game that will serve as curtain-raiser to Game 4 of the 2008-09 KFC PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

Handled by Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, who steered the Iranian basketball team to the FIBA Asia Championship in Tokushima, Japan in 2007, earning for them passage to the Beijing Olympics last year, the Smart Gilas RP squad will face Guiao's Burger King (formerly Air21) at 5 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.

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TALK 'N TEXT BOUNCES BACK WITH BLOWOUT WIN
Tropang Texters silence LA, close in on Aces 1-2
Sunday, 01 February 2009
TALK ‘N TALK N Text finally flashed its feared fiery form and gave Alaska a 92-73 beating Sunday for its breakthrough win in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup championship series at the Araneta Coliseum.


The Tropang Texters got off to a fast start and continuously poured on the heat in the succeeding periods to finally earn their first win after harrowing losses in the best-of-seven duel's first two games.


“All we wanted coming in was to get one and worry about getting another later,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes, before expressing what he believed as the keys to his players showing up with the kind of game expected of them.



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