Scottie Reynolds, the second all-time leading scorer in Villanova U history, will debut for the Texters in the 5:30 p.m. game as the squad tries to put its Grand Slam bid in overdrive.
Rain or Shine and B-Meg, tied at the bottom of the remaining six-team field, battle at 7:45 p.m. badly needing a victory to stay alive through the round’s 4-of-5 rule.
Two games off the pace and 1-1/2 game off second place, the Elasto Painters and the Llamados must either sweep their semifinal outings or nail that semifinal round incentive to reach the title series.
Both idle Petron and Barangay Ginebra tote 5-3 records like the Aces.
Taking a 6-2 record into the playoffs, the Texters are installed as the solid picks against the Aces, who will likely be without the acrobatic Cyrus Baguio because of an MCL tear.
Reynolds, who takes over from Maurice Baker, scored a total of 2,222 points at Villanova, just 21 points shy of former New Jersey Net Kerry Kittles’ total. Reynolds was named to the AP All-American squad at the end of his collegiate career last year.
Even with jet lag, Reynolds makes the Texters an even deeper team as Talk ‘N Text tries to score a repeat of its 101-75 rout of the Aces on June 15.
Actually, the Texters ended the eliminations with a merciless 145-116 demolition of the Air21 Express last week.
“We needed to end strong,” coach Chot Reyes said of their nononsense effort against the also-ran Express. “The semifinals will be a whole lot different. We need to make sure that we’re at the top of our game.”