Texters, Beermen start semifinal duel

SAN MIGUEL Beer battles a Talk ‘N Text crew in Game 1 of their PBA Philippine Cup Final Four series today, with the Tropang Texters seeking to reprise a recent mammoth performance that got them this far.

Game time is 7 p.m. at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay with the Texters hoping to come up with the same kind of brilliance and intensity that allowed them to chop down hulking Barangay Ginebra to size in the second phase of their quarterfinal duel on Tuesday.

Talk ‘N Text, judging from the way it crushed the Gin Kings in an 83-67 victory, seems to be the team best equipped to upset the Beermen, who boast of reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo and a new  point guard in Alex Cabagnot.

Even with Ginebra having the 7-foot Greg Slaughter and the 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar, the Texters proved dominant in their knockout match and took the Gin Kings’ big men out of their sweet spots the entire night.

In fact, Slaughter and Aguilar were held to a combined 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Texters fought doubly hard for every possession while flashing an efficient offense.

But coach Jong Uichico feels that they will be coming into the best-of-seven series with a disadvantage, since, like Rain or Shine against Alaska in the other semifinal pairing, the Beermen will be coming in  well-rested.

“They are well-rested and had more days to prepare,” Uichico said. “But we have got to learn to play with this kind of a disadvantage, not to mention their size and Cabagnot as their point guard who can really score.”

Cabagnot was acquired before the trade deadline from Globalport with the Beermen giving up Sol Mercado and future Draft rights.

With Cabagnot, the Beermen just added another offensive threat and someone who can more or less negate what Jason Castro can contribute to the Texters.

Castro was one of the heroes for the Texters against the Kings, shooting 23 points while holding the team together when Ginebra tried making a run in the fourth period.

Rob Reyes did his work on Slaughter and will most likely be called upon again to put the cuffs on the 6-foot-10 Fajardo, the San Miguel cornerstone who is leading the Best Player of the Conference derby.