TALK ’N TEXT Head Coach Jong Uichico is not losing hope despite facing elimination in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
Except for their blowout loss in the semifinal series against San Miguel Beer, Talk ’N Text managed to stay close with the loaded Beermen and were a basket away from winning Game Three before yielding a 96-95 decision to fall to a 0-3 hole.
Uichico doesn’t intend to tinker with his game plan despite the fact that they are fighting for survival in Game Four on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena at 7 p.m.
“We will do the same thing. We know our backs are against the wall, but that’s how the game is. We’re here to play and try to win every game and hope to keep the faith,” Uichico said.
“The only blowout game was the first game. It’s not that they dominated the game. We’re in the game all the time. Maybe we get lucky in the next game,” the eight-time PBA champion coach added.
The Tropang Texters missed golden opportunities in Game Three. They muffed 14 free throws (12-of-26) in the game. In Game Two where they also lost, 80-87, Talk ’N Text bungled 12 bonus shots (12-of-24).
“Maybe, we should practice more with our foul shots,” he said.
On the contrary, San Miguel Beer was all clutch in the end, hitting big baskets at crunch time and making a key defensive play with Arwind Santos forcing Ranidel de Ocampo to take a difficult attempt that was way off the mark.
Uichico admitted the Beermen have too many weapons and they need to bring their best defense in Game Four to avoid getting trampled upon further.
“We will try to keep them in the lowest score as possible. We have to keep on playing the game, keep on defending just like in the past two games,” he said. “We just need a win.”
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer is dead serious for a shutout and sweated it out in the gym during the holiday break.
“We need to win four games. The chance is still there and we shouldn’t be complacent,” San Miguel Head Coach Leo Austria said.
Austria is aware of the off-court drama that has made the series even more colorful and commended his players for staying focused each game.
“The boys just didn’t lose their composure. We should be smart, we shouldn’t be affected. I told them to just do their job,” Austria added.
While reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos continue to provide solid games for the Beermen, Austria is also getting solid minutes from his bench, particularly on Rico Maierhofer, who had 10 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes in Game Three, and Alex Cabagnot at the point.
De Ocampo (21 points), Jayson Castro (15), Anthony Washington (12), Jimmy Alapag (11) and Ryan Reyes (10) all hit double figures in the previous game and Uichico hopes others would contribute to stay alive in the series.
Image credits: Kevin De la Cruz