Can Powerade stop Talk 'n' Text

Following the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters' impressive Game 1 outing versus the JVee Casio-less Powerade Tigers which they handily won 116-110, there's only one question left to ask before we outright christen the new (and still) Philippine Cup Champions from here on out.

Can the Tigers stop the Texters?

Can they play defense?

Hell, do they even have the players to play defense?

Jayson Castro looks to be back at full strength, ditto with Ryan Reyes who helped make life a living hell for the Bataan Bomber Gary David. Larry Fonacier and Jarred Dillinger did their part to ensure that their guys work on both ends of the floor and the bigs, Ranidel de Ocampo and Ali Peek were just too much for the Tigers' frontline.

Like KKS said in the Finals preview, this won't be a shootout despite both team's penchant for racking up points by the hundreds. One team runs from 3 point line to 3 point line. The other runs right at the rim.

Sometimes those 3s go in, others they don't.

And when faced against a team that knows what it takes to secure titles and cannot be duped into a shootout, the chances of winning for the Tigers go from slim to none.

Casio's right hamstring injury is a problem for the Tigers. It's bad enough that they're losing out on his offensive prowess, but also because there's no other PG on the roster that could at least make Jimmy Alapag or Castro work on defense. Celino Cruz could get hot from deep in a jiffy, but he's bound to attempt a couple of extra heat checks that could ruin the Tigers' momentum.

The Tigers' hopes can't be placed on the Bataan Bomber's shoulders alone, for them to win, they need help from beyond their Big 3-- more defensively than offensively.