Pressure mounts on TNT, Giants

For Talk 'N Text and Purefoods, Friday night’s objectives are the same.

They are determined to win and avoid a fifth and deciding game in which the momentum is likely to switch to their respective opponents in the quarterfinals, Ginebra, and Rain or Shine.

The Texters and the Giants took 2-0 leads in the best-of-five series but lost the third game last Monday allowing the Gin Kings and the Elasto Painters to live another day.

Not only that, the Kings and Painters now enjoy a slight momentum in tonight’s fourth game as they try to force the rubber match.

The fourth game is set at the Araneta Coliseum with Ginebra facing TNT at 5 p.m. and Purefoods playing Rain or Shine at 7:30 p.m.

“Masyadong nanggigigil,” said TNT team manager Virgil Villavicencio Thursday in assessing the Wednesday setback. (We badly wanted to win.)

Besides that, however, Villavicencio, who is just in his second week as team manager replacing Frankie Lim, said the team was surprised by the energetic performance of Jayjay Helterband and Mark Caguioa.

“We didn’t expect them to play that well,” he said as the two Ginebra stars contributed nine points each but provided an intimidating presence on the court in the Kings’ 102-97 win over TNT.

Villavicencio said they expect to end the series today.

“Having to play a fifth game against a team like Ginebra is dangerous,” he said, noting that the Kings enjoy tremendous crowd support which can tilt the balance in a close game.

Rain or Shine also survived its must-win match but, like Ginebra, also faced a similar situation tonight.

Purefoods, however, is likewise determined to end the series.

“Must win situation for us,” said Ryan Gregorio whose team still leads the best-of-five series, 2-1, after winning Games 1 (90-85) and 2 (95-94).

“We are not looking beyond Friday. The sense of urgency must be present from the tip till the end,” he added.

Rain or Shine’s victory last Wednesday proved enabled the Painters to redeem themselves after blowing away a 20-point lead in Game 2.

One thing going for Rain or Shine is that veteran forward Kerby Raymundo and rookie wingman Rico Maierhofer may not play again due to injuries. The 6-foot-6 Raymundo has a thigh injury and the 6-foot-6 Maierhofer is still recuperating from a sprained right ankle.

Although the Giants controlled the boards in Game 3, 55-43, the extended minutes of Gregorio’s starters like James Yap (43 minutes) and Niño Canaleta (40 minutes) proved to be the key factor in the endgame.

“They didn’t have fresh legs to close-out the game,” he said.

Purefoods shot 7-of-27 (25.9%) from the field in the fourth to Rain or Shine’s 11-of-20 (55%). Overall, the Painters shot better, 33-of-72 (45.8%) including 13-of-29 from the three-point territory (44.8%) with Jeff Chan going 5-of-11, while the Giants were 35-of-83 (42.2%). Yap was 0-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Games Friday (Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — Talk ’N Text vs Ginebra
7:30 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs Puref

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Source: Waylon Galvez  | Manila Bulletin