NO SWEEP BY BEERMEN OVER KATROPA
By Eddie Alinea of Spin.ph
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 22 Jun 2017
The question asked of sportswriters inside the press room before Game 1 of the PBA Commissioner?s Cup finals between San Miguel and Talk ?N Text was whether the heavy favorite Beermen can sweep Katropang Texters in their best-of-seven title series.
When the smoke of battle was extinguished, coach Nash Racela and his Texters provided the answer: There won?t be any!
The rookie mentor and his charges came much prepared both physically and mentally in displaying extra-ordinary poise and plenty of court discipline all throughout the 48-minute showdown highlighted by seven ties and six lead changes.
Bulky and hulking Katropa Texters? import Joshua Smith, playing with only one healthy foot, put one over his Beermen counterpart Charles Rhodes by delivering the winning marker ? a soft jump hook off defender June Mar Fajardo with no time left, breaking the last deadlock at 102-all and sending the relatively small gallery into frenzy.
Racela, a long-time understudy in TnT?s coaching team, masterfully shuffled his men in the entire proceeding, giving everyone the need rest, especially Smith, and ensuring that each had fresh legs to stand on when needed.
That last play, which, incidentally, was intended for spitfire Jayson Castro, Racela admitted during the post-game conference with media men, attested to that.
SMB coach Leo Austria, expecting the play, had Castro all covered, forcing the inbound thrower to pass instead to Smith, who without hesitation drove towards the basket to win it for his team.
With the heroics, the 300-plus pound Smith is sure to live another day Friday in Game 2 of the series.
?Yeah, he?ll still play Friday,? Racela assured as he couldn?t help extend words of praise to his import. ?He?s extra special. His presence of mind carried us to victory tonight. Now I can sleep soundly and think of ways how to win again on Friday.?
Smith ended up with 21 points, 10 shy of Rhodes? 31, but his last five points in he fourth quarter kept Katropa afloat in the midst of the late Beermen uprisings.
Mike Myers, his replacement, is already in on waiting to take over, but it looks like he has to wait a little longer. Or just remain a spectator all throughout the championship playoff.
Heroes came aplenty for the Manuel V. Pangilinan franchise. There, for instance, was first time pro Roger Pogoy who defied all the men Austria assigned to stop him as he burned the hoops for 27 points on 10 of 20 shooting from the field, including 5 of 9 from the arc.
Castro had a near triple-double performance with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists. He only had three points in the fourth quarter but it couldn?t have come at the right time as it gave the Texters back the lead, 102-99, after the Beermen tied the count at 99-all behind a 9-1 run in a three-minute span.
Rhodes scored 21 points in the first quarter alone, but couldn?t get the pass the rest of the way from point guard Alex Cabagnot and Chris Ross who both seemed interested in making points than creating situations for heir teammates.
The score was still tied at 99 with 1:14 left when Cabagnot stole the ball near midcourt. But instead of waiting for his teammates, he opted to fire from long range and missed, a scenario repeated by Ross later.
A pair of free throws though courtesy of Ross had the count equalized for last time, 102-all, barely 25 ticks away from the final buzzer.
Photo: TnT Katropa Texter Joshua Smith drives over Yancy De Ocampo (L) and Charles Rhodes of San Miguel Beer.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea of Spin.ph.
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