Both barely pulling through in Game Two, the Tropang Texters and the Giants are raring to finish off their respective rivals and arrange a semis showdown with the Alaska Aces and the San Miguel Beermen, respectively.
“I don’t want to dwell on what ifs. We’ll come out with a sense of urgency Wednesday,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.
“The only advantage I see at this point is that we only need to win once and they need thrice. Until we get that, the series is far from over. The best way to approach this is for us to think we’re on a catch-up,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.
The Texters and the Giants pushed the Kings and the Elasto Painters to the brink with stirring come-from-behind victories Wednesday.
TnT edged Ginebra, 106-105, on Jared Dillinger’s huge basket on a perfect alley-oop by Ranidel de Ocampo with 2.4 seconds left to play while Purefoods nosed out Rain or Shine, 95-94, on two free throws by James Yap with six-tenths of a second left.
The Texters overcame 19-point deficits while the Giants trailed by as many as 20 points before rallying in the second half behind James Yap and Roger Yap.
Blowing away what had looked like a won game, the Kings and the Elasto Painters now face a daunting task of winning three in a row to gain entry into the semis.
In the history of the local pro league, only two teams have survived a 0-2 deficit in a best-of-five series. Crispa did the trick versus Toyota in the 1975 third conference with Purefoods duplicating the feat against Alaska 15 years later. Curiously, both the Redmanizers and the Hotdogs were then under coach Baby Dalupan.
The Kings and the Elasto Painters are not looking far ahead, saying they would come out focused on the game at hand.
But the Texters and the Giants anticipate a battle and they promise to be ready.
“We’re gone through two tough games. It will be 10 times tougher Wednesday and we have to be on our toes,” said Reyes.
“The hardest thing about this series is that everybody thought it’s going to be a breeze for us. But Rain or Shine has proven it’s strong with raw power. We have to persevere to beat them,” said Gregorio.
Purefoods salvaged Game Two as James Yap drew a crucial foul on Eddie Laure and coolly sank two foul shots at the finish.
In Game One, Rain or Shine also put up a whale of a fight but faltered at endgame, suffering an 85-90 defeat.
The question is whether the Elasto Painters can finally come out strong and sustain a steady effort to the finish.
Source: Nelson Beltran | Philstar.com
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