The Final Score: What irony, James Yap must now do a Gary David

Magoo Marjon did not say anything this time. He didn't say B-MEG would win easy. He didn't say Meralco was a huge underdog. Although judging by how obsessed Meralco was in the Game 1 of the quarterfinals, someone not named Magoo Marjon must have said Mac Cardona and Asi Taulava had no chance in hell. Cardona seems obsessed with scoring teardrops over 7-footers and making the world know that he could score against 7-footers. Boo at your own risk. Some are motivated by love. Others are inspired by hate. Cardona is a street-style alley brawler who thrives on animosity. The more you loathe, the better he becomes. I'm not sure how it happened, but Taulava was definitely possessed in Game 1; possessed by the spirit of Rudy Hatfield, by a desire to play like he's 29, not 39, by a compulsion to grab every loose ball. Asi scrambled, crashed and clawed. When the old man shows a rookie's hunger, everyone is compelled to follow. Tim Cone must be shaking his head. Gary David, Marcio Lassiter and Jvee Casio are gone. Yet Cardona and Taulava have taken their place. Powerade is out. Yet Meralco is one win away from completing the unthinkable. No one is saying it in B-MEG coaches' meetings and team practices but perhaps some of them are thinking it: here we go again. In the early days of the Cone era, B-MEG now assumes a role few expected them to play. The coach: so synonymous with success. His players: so identified with winning. Yet for the second straight tournament, B-MEG faces a similar test of resolve. They are underdogs now, forced to win back-to-back games in order to advance. B-MEG seemed ready to leave the Powerade debacle behind. Now this. Maybe the Llamados are now hoping Magoo says something again. C'mon Magoo, say B-MEG is crumbling under pressure. Please Magoo, say James Yap's 14 ppg in the Commissioner's Cup are not enough. For heaven's sake Magoo, say B-MEG has no chance in hell. There are few alternatives. It boils down to this. B-MEG must now do a Powerade in order to survive. To shoot like there's no tomorrow. Cone, of course, will not allow B-MEG to spark an offensive free-for-all. He will, however, expect nothing less than a shoot-like-there's-no-tomorrow attitude. Is there any other option? James must now do a Gary in order to play on. The man with a million moves must also become the man with the flaming hands. Surely Denzel Bowles must play big (18 points in Game 1). Surely Peter June Simon can play better (12 points, five turnovers in Game 1). Surely B-MEG's defense can stop Cardona and Taulava. But if James can play on a different metaphysical level, if he can summon a shooting performance for the ages, surely it will help. What irony. Down 0-1 in a best-of-three series, B-MEG must now assume the identity of the very same team and the very same players they worked so hard to forget. — GMA News