Game 5 today an all-out war

RYAN Reyes of Talk ‘N Text and Marc Pingris of B-Meg both have their eyes on the ball during Sunday’s Game 4. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

After being knocked over by a referee and laughed at by a huge crowd and then taking an ugly loss in the end, B-Meg coach Tim Cone was still man enough to blame everything on himself.

Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes, meanwhile, finally talked with satisfaction. The firebrand mentor wants more from his wards, though.

With both sides trying to focus as hard as they have ever done in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Game 5 of the title series promises to be an all-out war with the Tropang Texters and the Llamados seeking the psychological edge in what has boiled down to be a best-of-three.

Game time is 6:45 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The defending champion Texters may be coming off a 15-point blowout of the Llamados but the odds favor neither side because of their evenly matched rosters.

“I need to do a better job of preparing the guys,” Cone said after an 85-100 loss last Sunday in a highly physical game where he was toppled over by referee Art Herrera.

“I couldn’t keep my balance because he stepped on my foot,” Cone said. “He didn’t even apologize. I was daydreaming (when it happened), thinking about the next game.”

Usually, a coach that comes off a win like that should be happy enough.

Not Reyes.

“We need to do the things we need to do,” Reyes said. “Important thing is to get down and play good basketball for 48 minutes.”

Twelve of the last 21 best-of-seven series in league history that went to 2-2 needed a seventh game to decide.

Talk ‘N Text’s running game fired on all cylinders Sunday and its defense was stingy all night. The Texters limited Peter June Simon to just five points and James Yap to 14.

The Texters’ third-tier guard Pamboy Raymundo, who saw action for a mere 14 seconds, planted an elbow on the side of Josh Urbiztondo’s face and then whacked Joe Devance at the back of the head with an open hand after Devance tossed the ball to his face.

Raymundo’s action merited a Flagrant Foul 2s, a game suspension, and a fine of P40,000.

Meanwhile, Dorian Peña will be returning to Petron Blaze in exchange for Carlo Sharma and Celino Cruz. Another deal that would have sent Jondan Salvador of Barako Bull to Powerade for Doug Kramer was turned down by league commissioner Chito Salud.