PBA Finals: Chot wary of Powerade's 'mightiest comeback' in Game 3

With his team up two games to none, and halfway through its bid for history, the last thing  Talk `N Text coach Chot Reyes would want to happen is for the Tropang Texters to get complacent against the Powerade Tigers in their PBA Philippine Cup Finals encounter. “The best thing we can do now is be prepared for Powerade’s mightiest comeback,” he said. “This series isn’t over until we win four games. All we did in Game Two was move closer to our ultimate objective.” Reyes of course, knows what he’s talking about. As coach of Coca-Cola (the predecessor of Powerade) early in the decade, Reyes also had a 2-0 lead over Talk `N Text during the title series of the 2003 Philippine Cup before losing the next four games and the title. Four years later, as head mentor of San Miguel, Reyes also saw a 2-0 lead erased as Barangay Ginebra came back to sweep the next four games to win the 2007 Philippine Cup. He has too many reasons why he wants the Tropang Texters to go out like the hungry team it was in the first two games leading to Wednesday night’s Game 3 against the embattled Tigers at the Araneta Coliseum. The defending champions, aiming to become the first franchise since Great Taste in 1985 to win back-to-back Philippine Cup championships, won Game 2, 102-96, after their bench again outplayed their Tigers’ counterpart, 59-18. The Tropang Texters also did the same in the series opener, 67-14. Despite the seeming discrepancy, Powerade coach Bo Perasol is hopeful the Tigers can recover lost ground. “We are always going to be hopeful regarding our chances,” he said. “We, however, need to get one win first. Our team is definitely not disheartened by the 0-2 deficit. We played better in the second game.” The Tigers were indeed a lot better the last time, rallying back from a 12-point deficit in the final quarter and threatened at 94-93 in the final two minutes on a basket by rookie Marcio Lassiter. But the Tropang Texters’ championship experience came to fore when the going got tough as Jimmy Alapag hit a booming three-pointer to spark a 7-0 run by the team to clinch the win. “We will continue to fight no matter what the result of Game Three is,” stressed Perasol. -- RAF/OMG/KG, GMA News