JONG UICHICO is one win away of joining an elite group of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) coaches who won titles with three different teams.
But the unassuming Talk ’N Text head coach is not counting Rain or Shine out. Instead, he wants his players to show the same sense of urgency in Game Six of the Commissioner’s Cup finals.
The Tropang Texters go for the clincher in Game Six at 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with Uichico hoping to make league history. “Hindi pa tapos ’yan. Kailangan mo ng four wins para manalo,” Uichico said minutes after leading Talk Text to a 103-94 win in Game Five to take a 3-2 series lead.
“Dapat same attitude ang ipakita namin. We should play with the same sense of urgency. Complacency is farthest from my mind,” he added.
Ranidel de Ocampo, a front-runner in the Finals Most Valuable Player race, again led the Tropang Texters with 27 points with import Ivan Johnson also scoring 27, his highest in the series, in Game Five last Friday.
Best Player of the Conference Jayson Castro added 15 points and nine assists in that victory.
Uichico warned his players about a big comeback by Rain or Shine, which has been in the same situation twice and managed to squeeze one championship. “Championship na ito. You don’t want the momentum to shift,” Uichico said, who will be the sixth coach in league history to lead three different squads to a Philippine Basketball Association title. Virgilio Dalupan, Tommy Manotoc, Norman Black, Chot Reyes and Yeng Guiao were the first five coaches to pull off the fest.
Knowing Guiao and the Elasto Painters, they are expected to make the necessary adjustments on Sunday to force a winner-take-all Game Seven on Wednesday. Wayne Chism, the Best Import winner, and Paul Lee had 25 and 19 points, respectively, in their Game Five loss and Guiao hopes that others would step up to stay alive in the series.