PBA: Rain or Shine's 'barya-barya boys' promise to be relentless versus 'favored' Talk 'N Text

The Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters have made it to the finals five times in the past two seasons of the PBA. They went all the way to the championship three out of those five times, and have copped back-to-back Philippine Cup titles along the way. With their championship experience, an intact and healthy line-up, and their ability to stay hungry, the Tropang Texters are pegged as the favorites to win their third straight Philippine Cup title.

And that's exactly what opposing head coach Yeng Guiao of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters wants his opponents to be, favored.

“Sa series namin against Ginebra, hindi kami favored. Sa series namin against San Mig, di rin kami favored," Guiao said. “Sa Talk ‘N Text mas lalong hindi kami favored and that’s where we want to be.”

The Elasto Painters won their first championship against the B-MEG Llamados in last season’s Governor’s Cup and they are going for their second straight title against the Tropang Texters.

“I don’t think we have any advantages against Talk ‘n Text,” admitted Guiao. “We’re just going to be relentless.”

The Rain or Shine mentor said that his boys are physically and mentally ready for the series against Talk ‘N Text. “Mas marami silang championships, but we have one and that’s enough,” added Guiao. “Barya-barya boys ang tawag ko sa mga players ko because our players are not paid a lot but it’s enough.”

Talk ‘N Text head coach Norman Black however brushed off the favorite tag, saying that it does not mean anything in this series.

“Who decides that by the way?” asked Black. "But even if we’ve been installed as the favorites, we still have to win four times.”

Black also noted that the statistics suggest that this will be a close series

“Statistically, we’re the number one offensive team but they are the best defensive team,” said Black. “They get a lot of offensive rebounds but we don’t allow our opponents to get a lot of offensive rebounds. They force a lot of turnovers but we take care of the ball well.”

The architect of the Ateneo five-peat added that the rotations of both teams are also very similar. “Coach Yeng rotates 11 to 12 players. We rotate 10 to 11 players,” Black said. “None of our players get more than 30 minutes, none of their players get more than 28 minutes.”

Guiao agreed that Talk ‘N Text presents an interesting match-up with his team. “They are a great offensive team that can play defense. We are a great defensive team that can play offense,” he shared.

The two teams though will put their money where their mouth is starting on Wednesday, when the PBA Philippine Cup Finals kick off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. - AMD, GMA News