PBA: With San Mig Coffee on the brink, Talk ’N Text out to force sudden death

The San Mig Coffee Mixers are on the brink of winning their third straight championship in as many conferences, thanks to Tim Cone’s brilliant coaching and his cast of talented and unselfish players. “Brilliant,” “talented” and “unselfish” are typically words also used to describe Coach Norman Black and the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, but those adjectives haven’t translated into wins since the Mixers hold a 2-1 edge in this five-game series.

Here’s a recap of what both teams have been doing so far in the Commissioner’s Cup finals, and a few important factors to watch out for in game four:




Marc Pingris and San Mig Coffee’s defense

Marc Pingris ruins everything in these playoffs, and I mean that as a compliment. Pingris is a defensive wizard who gives the Mixers an advantage on every defensive matchup with his ability to guard all five positions. In single coverage, Pingris makes life hell for Best Player of the Conference Jayson Castro and Jimmy Alapag as they set up the offense. But even when Talk ‘N Text goes to the pick and roll, the Mixers can switch defensively and not miss a beat since Ping ends up on the roll man, while Joe Devance or Rafi Reavis summon just enough foot speed to frustrate the Texters’ point guards.

That the Mixers are so evenly matched is forcing Black into some unusual decisions: throwing Rob Reyes at James Mays, slotting Ranidel De Ocampo at the three with Kelly Williams and Richard Howell, and increasing Castro’s minutes to find any edge.

In game three, Black even tried to get Castro to pick on James Yap in one-on-one situations, but that got mixed results. Pingris fights through the switches, so even when Castro gets his matchup, he can’t take advantage. That’s because Castro finds two or three Mixers digging down in the paint and ready to contain his penetration. San Mig Coffee is so good at knowing exactly where they need to be on the floor, and it’s completely thrown Talk ‘N Text off their game.


San Mig Coffee’s bench

In game two, Tim Cone pinned their fourth quarter comeback hopes on Alex Mallari, Mark Barroca, Justin Melton and Ian Sangalang, while Yap, Pingris and PJ Simon stayed on the bench. Cone later said he did it to rest his stars and to see if his second group could offer anything, and it’s possible he’ll try the same thing again in game four. If so, his bench has to play meaningful minutes, something only Sangalang and Barroca have consistently done, and keep the pressure on the Texters.


Talk ‘N Text’s three-point shooting

De Ocampo is the anti-Pingris in the sense that he’s one of the most versatile scoring talents in the league, especially from downtown, and he needs to become that player again for the Texters to have a chance of coming back from the dead. In his defense he hasn’t been gun-shy, but he’s just 10-of-41 (24.4 percent) from the field in the entire series. He needs to make San Mig Coffee pay for packing the paint against Castro.

But he’s just the beginning. The Texters aren’t making their three’s, and it hurts the team’s chances of success when they can’t be that floor-spacing team that threatens to make you bleed from any spot on the floor. That’s on Ryan Reyes, KG Canaleta, Larry Fonacier, and even Castro and Alapag to force San Mig Coffee to cover them.


Talk ‘N Text’s Richard Howell

The reigning Best Import of the Conference hasn’t been the same since hurting his shoulder against Rain or Shine a month ago in the elimination round. And while they’ve won games without him, they can’t afford him to go missing against a tall team like the Mixers. The injury could be worse than they’re letting on since Howell’s rebounding seems to have taken a step back, and he’s not the same scoring force he once was. But with the championship on the line, Howell has to pull out all the stops and give Talk ‘N Text an inside presence.


Game four is set for Thursday at the PhilSports Arena.


- AMD, GMA News