Texters try again to achieve historic feat in Philippine Cup

Talk 'N Text, denied of a Finals sweep by a rejuvenated Powerade side, tries to clinch the PBA Philippine Cup title again on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. The Tropang Texters, aiming to become the first team since the 1985 Great Taste Coffee Makers to repeat as All-Filipino champion, was derailed in their quest for history after a 100-97 setback in Game Four of the best-of-seven Finals series. Talk 'N Text, however, still holds a 3-1 series lead and hopes to end it by finishing off Gary David and the Tigers in Game Five that starts at 6 p.m. "We need to come out stronger than Powerade and match their energy from the start," said Texters coach Chot Reyes. "We also need to be more efficient in our running game." David was at the forefront of that energized Powerade fight back the last time, exploding for 35 points on 11-of-20 field goal shooting and went 11-of-12 from the foul line on the same night he was named the Philippine Cup's Best Player of the Conference. Filipino-American swingman Sean Anthony supported the Tigers' top gunner with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He drained a tough, pressure-packed jumper in the final 39 seconds of the match to break the game's final deadlock for a 99-97 Powerade lead. But Reyes' main concern is the way the Tigers big men outplayed their counterparts inside. "It was their bigs that made the difference," said Reyes. "Their bigs outplayed our bigs. And we cannot win games if our bigs do not outscore their bigs." The duo of Doug Kramer and Romel Adducul was a force at the post for the Tigers, combining for 21 points and 15 rebounds. In contrast, the Talk 'N Text's trio of Ranidel de Ocampo, Ali Peek, and Kelly Williams were held to a combined 18 markers. De Ocampo only had three points on 1-of-8 shooting two days after torching Powerade for 21 points—including 17 in the fourth and overtime periods—in a 133-126 Game Three win. The Tropang Texters also shot 38.6 percent from the field in Game Four (34-of-88), compared to the Tigers' 46.8 percent (37-of-79). Powerade coach Bo Perasol as always, want to take the series one game at a time as his Tigers try to become the first team in the PBA's 37-year history to come back from a 3-0 hole and win the championship. "We are trying to funnel our energies into getting another win. Defense will spell the difference for us. We're not thinking of one game at a time, but rather we're thinking of this as one quarter at a time," he said. Alaska was the only team that forced a Game Six after being down 3-0 in a Finals series before losing to Gordon's Gin in the 1997 Commissioner's Cup. — JVP, GMA News