JAMES Yap of San Mig Coffee loses possession from Talk ‘N Text double team formed by Aaron Aban (51) and Ranidel de Ocampo in their game being played at presstime. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
MANILA, Philippines–Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black started out with two bench warmers in a very crucial game against San Mig Coffee and got the surprise he has been looking for in their PBA Governors’ Cup Final Four series.
The ploy gave the Tropang Texters a look San Mig coach Tim Cone has never seen before, and the Mixers were befuddled all night as Talk ‘N Text posted an easy 112-86 victory to take their best-of-five series to a Game 4 at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“I was sticking to a 10-man rotation (in the first two games) that wasn’t working out,” Black said when asked of the wisdom behind the move to insert Aaron Aban and Rob Reyes into the starting unit.
“I just gave everyone a chance to play, see what happened,” he continued after pruning San Mig’s lead to 2-1 and putting a dent on the defending champion Mixers’ psyche. “It was a decision that I came up with yesterday (Sunday night) and fortunately for me tonight, everyone played well.”
Ranidel de Ocampo scored 24 points, Jason Castro fired 14 as a total of six players—three of them coming off the bench—tossed in 10 or more to enable the Texters to extend their season.
“Right now, I have no idea of what I’ll be thinking (as a game plan for Game 4),” Black answered when asked if he would be thinking out of the box again. “We might try something else in the next game and, hopefully, it will throw them off guard.”
Aban and Reyes both hit their first field goal attempts to crank up the Talk ‘N Text offense and Black was actually able to clear his entire bench before the end of the first half.
Peter June Simon paced the Mixers with 18 points and Marqus Blakely was completely thrown out of the San Mig rotation and finished with just eight points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes.
Game 4 is set for Wednesday, also at the Big Dome, and one thing going for Cone is that, because of the early blowout, he was able to rest his big guns and keep them fresh for their next shot at the clincher.
THE SCORES:
TALK ‘N TEXT 112—De Ocampo 24, Castro 14, Seigle 13, Harris 12, Alapag 11, Espiritu 10, Williams 6, Canaleta 6, Reyes 4onacier 4, Aban 2, J. Reyes 2, Ryan Reyes 2, Carey 2, Baclao 0.
SAN MIG COFFEE 86—Simon 18, Devance 11, Blakely 8, Taha 8, Pingris 7, Mallari 7, Barroca 6, Sanggalang 6, Yap 4, Maliksi 3, Gaco 3, Matias 2, Melton 2, Reavis 1, Holstein 1
Quarters: 20-21; 52-37; 85-64; 112-86