TALK ‘N Text and Powerade, both coming off big wins, tangle today with the winner climbing out of the cellar and earning a legitimate chance to remain in contention in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
With 1-2 slates, the Tropang Texters and the Tigers are in the bottom half of the standings going into the 4:15 p.m. contest at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Texters will come into the match with a three-day rest while the Tigers will be playing a second game in three nights with Gary David, the tournament’s best local scorer, expected to be the focus of the Talk ‘N Text defense.
After shooting 31 points in a 114-97 rout of Alaska on Friday, David is the logical man to stop for the Texters if they wish to score a follow up of a masterful conquest of defending champion Petron Blaze.
The Aces and the Boosters tangle in the second game scheduled at 6:30 p.m. with Petron seeking a win to keep second place and Alaska hoping to stay in the upper half of the leaderboard.
The problem facing Talk ‘N Text against the Tigers is the fact that coach Chot Reyes doesn’t have Ryan Reyes and Jason Castro to hound David.
David has scored 20 or more points in his last 17 games, a streak that dates back to Game 2 of the Philippine Cup Finals against, interestingly enough, Talk ‘N Text.
His average of close to 26 points a contest has installed him as seventh among all scorers, the only local to pierce the elite list in an import-spiced tournament.
Import Omar Sneed will have his acid test against the Texters, who have one of the better reinforcements in the tournament in Paul Harris.
Sneed missed a triple double by just one rebound in his debut against the Aces, and to beat the Texters, the Tigers must draw more than 13 points from their new import in what is expected to be another high-scoring game.