In Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals series, Talk N Text put on a shooting display and Barangay Ginebra failed to find an antidote.
Now trailing 2-1, the Gin Kings will need to make the necessary stops to prevent the Tropang Texters from coming up with another explosive game -- and moving closer to their ambitious back-to-back crowns.
“Yes, we have to find a way to stop them, or else, we might find ourselves losing the series," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.
“We need to show our best effort, particularly at the defensive end because Talk N Text is really an explosive team."
The Gin Kings will try to do just that when Game 4 of the series gets going at the Araneta Coliseum. Game time is 7 p.m.
But stopping the Tropang Texters is easier said than done.
The Tropang Texters have become a more prolific team with Ranidel de Ocampo playing his most productive game in years. The 6-foot-7 forward has been hitting the lights out – be it at the Big Dome or the Puerto Princesa Coliseum in Palawan.
In the first three games of the series, De Ocampo was able to display his shooting prowess, hitting 11-of-16 from the three-point territory or a steady 68.7-percent clip, leaving a lot of people to take notice of his newly-found arsenal.
But De Ocampo isn’t the only thorn of Barangay Ginebra.
The Tropang Texters’ guards were also doing heavy damage on both ends of the court with Jimmy Alapag, Jason Castro and Ryan Reyes alternating at the firing end and outplaying their counterparts for the first three games of the series.
On the other hand, consistency has been the problem of the Gin Kings. They have yet to get continuous production from their frontline.
Eric Menk, a former Most Valuable Player, has been getting extended minutes, but the burden of carrying the Gin Kings’ load is too heavy to carry. He needs more help from Yancy de Ocampo, Willie Wilson, Billy Mamaril and JC Intal.
If there’s one bright spot for Ginebra, it’s the valuable contributions of rookies John Wilson and Rob Labagala, who have somehow provided the team the much-needed lift. - Rey Joble, GMA News
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