IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO THIS

Alaska, Talk n Text go at it one last time for Jun B Trophy

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

Six games just aren't enough for the Alaska Aces and the Talk N Text Tropang Texters to resolve who’s really who in their title showdown. Now, it all boils down to a deciding Seventh Game. How the previous six encounters have been won or lost is history. The only thing that matters for both sides is to play as best as they could in the final 48 minutes of the series Wednesday evening. Chot Reyes, the TNT coach, said this is the type of situation where truism holds true about a motivated player. "We'll find out which team has that on Wednesday," Reyes said, hinting the job is cut out for his troops. Game 7 is scheduled at 7 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum. After their 99-94 victory in Game 6 to tie the series at three games apiece and force the "sudden-death", Reyes proclaimed his charges went into the game prepared to play for 96 minutes and get the job done. "We did a great job in the first half. Now we have to figure out how to play strong in the next 48 minutes," the TNT coach said. Perhaps, Reyes should also brief his players, particularly Mark Cardona, on how to respond just in case trouble arises. Alaska coach Tim Cone hinted about the possibility during his post-game interview in the aftermath of his team's loss Sunday. After confessing that he was disappointed with his wards' mental preparation in Game 6, the American tactician warns the finale of what he describes as a "touch-and-go" series could be ugly unless Cardona, Talk N Text's scoring leader, does away with his trash-talking and taunting. "If he taunts any of my players again, I'm gonna order that he be put on the floor. And he's gonna hit the floor hard with his head next time," said Cone, apparently pissed with Cardona's trash-talking and taunting every time the TNT hotshot makes a basket. "I tell you that starts fights and I'm not gonna have my players back down. If someone's trash-talking to them, they're not gonna back down. So it's either the refs have to be more attentive or it's gonna get ugly out there." Cardona said he doesn't intend to disrespect anyone. "I'm just a passionate player. That's how I play even way back my days at La Salle. I'm just being me," he said. Reyes, who got wind of Cone's warning a few minutes after he had left the coliseum, responded with a bold challenge: "Tim has to do what he has to do." The Aces are aiming to clinch their 13th championship that would tie them with the fabled Crispa Redmanizers as the league's second winningest ballclub. The San Miguel Beermen top the list with 17 titles. Besides winning for Alaska its fourth All-Filipino championship, Cone, who is on his 20th season in the league, is aiming to tie the legendary Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan as the league's winningest coach. Cone is one game away from matching Dalupan, who had won 601 games and 15 championships. Records show that only 11 of 22 teams which survived Game 6 and forced a deciding seventh game went on to win the series but 10 of 16 happened in the Finals. Reyes said their chances of clinching the series will be dictated by his players' ability to minimize their turnovers and dominate the rebounds. "I've been very constant about this. For us to have a fair chance, we've got to minimize our errors and work well on our rebounding. That's the key." (DBC)

CLOSE RACE FOR FINALS MVP TROPHY

Miller, Cardona lead 7-player pack in contention

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

No less than four Alaska players and three Talk n Text stalwarts are locked in a close fight for the Mighty Bond Finals MVP award going into the deciding Game Seven of the 2008-09 KFC PBA Philippine Cup finale at the Araneta Coliseum Wednesday. It's a wide-open race among Alaska Aces Joe Devance, Sonny Thoss, LA Tenorio and Willie Miller and Talk n Text Tropang Texters Macmac Cardona, Jimmy Alapag and Harvey Carey. The award will be handed out by the PBA Press Corps, in coordination with the league, after the yours-or-mine Game Seven. The tight race for the Mighty Bond Finals MVP award looms, coming on the heels of the hotly contested Best Player of the Conference honors that went to Miller. Miller's numbers may have gone down in the title series but he's in the race for the Finals MVP plum being Alaska's biggest savior in Games Two and Five. The two-time season MVP awardee is averaging 14.6 points, 6.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds through the first six games of the series. Joe Devance leads Alaska in scoring, Thoss in rebounding and Tenorio in assists. Through Games One to Six, Devance averaged 15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists, Thoss normed 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists while Tenorio logged averages of 11 points, 4.8 rebounds and seven assists. Cardona, Alapag and Carey were tops for the Texters. Carey, a great energy source for TnT, was the only player averaging in double-double in the series with norms of 12.2 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. Cardona is sharing 19.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per outing while Alapag contributes 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.2 steals a game. Sta. Lucia's Dennis Espino bagged the Finals MVP in the last all-Filipino tourney. In the last Fiesta Conference, the recipients of the award were Eric Menk and Ronald Tubid. The award is traditionally given to the best performer of the champion team.

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!

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

RAIN OR SHINE BEATS SMART GILAS-RP TEAM

Reyes, Fiesta import Clark leads Elasto Painters in close exhibition win

Sunday, 08 February 2009

Jay-R Reyes’ hook shot in the lane broke a tied game and Sol Mercado came away with a key defensive stop as Rain or Shine subdued a tough Smart Gilas-Philippine Team, 84-81, Sunday night in an exhibition match at the Araneta Coliseum. Even with import Charles Clark in the roster, the Elasto Painters were push to the limit by their young rivals and needed a great effort in the fourth quarter to claim the victory. Their three years of experience in the pro league spelled the difference in the game that had been dominated by the Nationals for most part and which was only decided in the closing seconds. Just when Rain or Shine appeared to have the game well under control, big man Rabeh-Ahmed Al-Hussaini knocked in a rare 3-point shot with 53 seconds remaining to tie the game at 79-79 and gave the RP Team a fair chance of winning. But Reyes quickly dismissed the Nationals' threat, scoring on a tough hook shot in traffic 11 seconds later. Mercado, the third pick in last year’s PBA Draft who was acquired from Alaska prior to the season, then blocked a driving JV Casio on the Nationals' next possession and wingman Jireh Ibanez scored on the transition to make it 81-79, sealing the victory with 28 seconds left. On his second tour of duty for Rain or Shine, Clark scored 20 points on a 10-of-16 shooting from the floor and Reyes added 14. Solomon and Mark Isip had 11 points apiece and Gabe Norwood, the leading Rookie of the Year bet, contributed 10 points and eight boards for the Elasto Painters, who outrebounded the Nationals, 54-46, and gained a 23-10 advantage on turnover points. Assistant coach Alex Compton called the shots for the Elasto Painters as head coach Caloy Garcia was still on vacation. Dylan Ababou poured in 19 points, Al-Hussaini added 18 and Mac Baracael and Casio had 15 apiece for the Nationals, who appeared comfortable playing under pro rules. On Wednesday the Smart Gilas-RP Team of coach Rajko Totoroman held Burger King to a 95-95 draw, thanks in part to Mark Barroca’s 37 points. Exhibiting tenacious defense, hustle and great passing ability, the Nationals, who played minus Barroca this time, kept the game close and threatened to rip the game open in the third quarter when Rey Guevarra's basket gave the RP Team a 56-46 lead with 6:20 to go in the period. (DBC) The scores: Rain or Shine 84 - Clark 20, Reyes 14, Mercado 11, Isip 11, Norwood 10, Wainwright 8, Ibanes 4, Laure 2, Salangsang 2, Andaya 2, Tang 0, Ejercito 0, Arana 0. Smart Gilas-RP 81 - Ababou 19, Al-Hussaini 18, Baracael 15, Casio 15, Jazul 6, Guevarra 5, Buenafe 3, Ballesteros 0, Slaughter 0, Tiu 0. Quarterscores: 22-19, 38-44, 59-62, 84-81.

MILLER LIFTS ALASKA TO 3-2 LEAD

Last 3-pt prayer shoves Alaska on brink of Phil Cup throne

Friday, 06 February 2009

Willie Miller threw up a "prayer" that was answered with 8.7 seconds remaining, leaving the usually effusive Tim Cone, the Alaska Aces coach, tongue-tied. Trailing by one with the clock winding down, Miller, on whose hands the Aces had put their fate in many occasions, swished in a three-point shot from about 30 feet to lift Alaska past Talk 'N Text, 95-93, Friday night for a 3-2 lead in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome. The Aces can capture their 13th championship with a victory in Game 6 Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. Talk 'N Text called time after Miller's huge shot and drew a play for long-distance shooter Renren Ritualo at deep left corner. Ritualo had a wide-open line but his triple veered slightly to the right. Harvey Carey collared the short bounce but his putback was also off, bringing to a close one of the most intensely-fought games in the best-of-seven series. "We're lucky Willie made the shot," said Cone, who picked up his 601st career win, tying him with his coaching idol, Baby Dalupan in all-time most wins in league history. "We would have been crushed had he missed, and he would have heard it from everybody." In the rare occasion that he struggled for a response, Cone said the play indeed was to get the ball to Miller, and for the two-time MVP to create the way he did earlier when he fed Sonny Thoss under the basket. "Was it designed for him to take a three-point shot? Frankly, no. In fact I was surprised he took it," Cone said. "But he felt the rhythm and so he took the shot and made it. That's the sign of a great player." Asked to comment further on Miller's decision to take a triple when all they needed was a 2-point basket, Cone stammered and said," You're putting me on a spot," stepping away from the table just as Miller walked in to take his turn in the post-game interview. The man of the hour joked with sportswriters, but turned somber when the subject came up. "Ang instruction talaga mag-create ako. Pero nag-sag si (Jared) Dillinger kaya tinira ko na," he said. Did he know the shot was going in, Miller, who raised both arms when the 3-pointer dropped in, said, laughing: "Hindi. Ang sama ng porma e." A dejected Chot Reyes, the Texters coach, took responsibility for the loss. "It was my fault," Reyes said, referring to their defense of the throw-in spot during the Miller play. "It was stupid coach's mistake." The Aces, who had lost Games 3 & 4 after taking a 2-0 series lead, blew a 90-83 lead with 3:28 left and found themselves trailing, 93-92, after Ranidel de Ocampo's 10-footer with 17.8 seconds left. Miller, who had consecutive turnovers when the Texters made their comeback, took the inbounds pass from Tony dela Cruz, took a couple of dribbles, and launched a Hail Mary shot over Dillinger that triggered a frenzy of celebration on the Alaska bench. The Aces woke up from a languid start to unload an 18-2 salvo in a dominant first quarter on the way to a 51-43 lead at the half. Six-foot-7 Sonny Thoss had six of his 12 first half points in that critical run, while Joe Devance and Tony dela Cruz each had four as Alaska pulled out an aggressive defense that forced four Texters turnovers in opening a 20-13 lead. Sophomore Yousif Aljamal came off the bench to score nine of his personal conference-high 12 points in the first 12 minutes, keeping Talk 'N Text from getting blown away. His back-to-back baskets put the Texters within 22-17. But Devance had four points and Willie Miller a 3-point shot in a 9-0 volley to set up the Aces' for the first of several 14-point spreads, 31-17. Off in his first two triples, Jimmy Alapag drained one to close the gap at 39-32 halfway in the second period. The Aces, however, had an answer to Aljamal, bringing in Larry Fonacier who scored 10 points in the second quarter, burying two from beyond the arc to keep Talk 'N Text at bay. The Texters, who opened with an 11-2 run as Alaska missed its first three shots and turned the ball over twice, was 5 of 15 in 3-point attempts in the first 24 minutes, shooting just 14 of 36 (39 percent). Alaska, which got a league conference-high and career high 12 assists from L.A. Tenorio, pounded the Texters under the boards, 33-16, and picked up 13 points from seven TNT turnovers (TT). The scores: ALASKA 95 – Thoss 20, Fonacier 15, Miller 15, De Vance 11, Tenorio 10, Hugnatan 10, Dela Cruz 9, Ferriols 5. TALK 'N TEXT 93 – Cardona 23, Alapag 19, Dillinger 12, Aljamal 12, De Ocampo R. 10, Castro 7, Carey 4, De Ocampo Y. 4, Peek 2, Ritualo 0. Quarters: 33-24, 51-43, 72-61, 95-93.

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.

Read more...

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.

Read more...

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.



Read more...


More...
TENORIO DRAWING COMPARISONS TO THE GREAT ‘FLYING A’
ALASKA NOW UP TWO-TO-NIL OVER TALK ‘N TEXT
ALASKA CONFIDENT OF MAKING IT 2-0