COACH Chot Reyes hopes Talk ’N Text could quickly wake up after a nightmarish performance as they seek an important win against B-Meg in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.
After being grounded by Rain or Shine, 81-96, in their worst game of the season, the Tropang Texters try to inch closer to the finals when they face the Llamados at 5:30 p.m.
In the second game, Barangay Ginebra also tries to bury the memory of its horrendous finish against Petron Blaze the other day when it collides with Alaska in the 7:45 p.m. match.
Needing two wins to secure a seat in the finals, the 7-3 (won-lost) Texters expect tough battle against the Llamados, which at 5-5 needs to sweep its remaining four games to have a shot at one of the two finals seats.
“We shot our worst field-goal percentage [30.9] that led to our lowest total output of the season,” said Reyes.
“But what disappoints me more is how badly we got outworked. Hopefully we can put these things behind us and just focus on the next play,” he added.
The Tropang Texters were totally outplayed by the Yeng Guiao-less Rain or Shine as Reyes’s reliables failed to deliver.
Import Scottie Reynolds and Ryan Reyes were the only Talk ’N Text players to finish in double figures with 18 and 15 points, respectively, while the rest were disappointments for the grand slam-seeking squad.
The back-to-back champions are the tournament’s top offensive team with a 108-point average entering the game but they struggled against the Elasto Painters.
Meanwhile, after squeaking past Rain or Shine, 99-98, the Llamados were beaten by the Kings, 79-99, to go 1-1 in the semis.
Ginebra and Alaska are tied with the Boosters for second spot with 6-4 win-loss marks each and a win would give them the solo second spot.
The Kings are coming off a disappointing 88-96 loss in overtime to Petron last Wednesday where they blew a 28-point lead.
The Aces won, 88-81, over Petron after an 85-103 loss to the Tropang Texters in their first game in the semifinals.
“All the upcoming games are crucial. It’s a critical that we play a complete game against Ginebra. With the exception of the second half last night, they’ve been playing great basketball,” said Alaska head coach Tim Cone.
Ginebra erected a 63-35 advantage that looked insurmountable before the Boosters staged the comeback and held the Kings to just three points in the extra period to secure the come from behind win.
