Downplay: How TNT rises above the hate

Coach Chot, TNT: Always the class act

They play one of the better styles of basketball in the land, with arguably five of the country's top 20 players and a sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Fame coach. And yet, majority of local basketball fans rejoiced when their Grand Slam bid was halted last season by a team hyped to be "undermanned" as compared to their then "tired/ injured" squad.

Such is the fate of the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters, a team so polarizing, that it's just hard to really define their place in the hearts of sportsfans around. Is it because they are owned by the suddenly rich, suddenly powerful "every-man" Manny V. Pangilinan and enjoy endless resources/ funding? Or the somewhat shrewd/shady antics that they pulled off the last five or six years to strengthen their roster (none of which compare or are even up to par with what the folks at San Miguel Corporation have been doing over the years)?

Now, just days before its highly anticipated seven game semifinals slugfest with spoiler/ nemesis Petron Blaze Boosters, the Texters are taking a different, "higher" approach in regards to its collective mindset.

No, they don't hate Petron. Or the bandwagon fans who were rallying behind their Grandslam bid only to jump ship once the wheels started falling.

No, they don't have an ax to grind.

And no, not even Coach Chot Reyes has anything foul to say about his PBB counterpart and almost back alley sparring partner Ato Agustin.

They're just here, as reported and quoted from other sites, to get healthy, play basketball and defend their Philippine Cup title.

Sounds simple enough.

In a league that is now being powered by machismo, rivalries and fiery/ feisty personalities it comes as a well deserved/ refreshing surprise to see a class act such as the Texters who may very well be the ambassadors of Philippine basketball (given the MVP-roots and place in the sports industry). Can they keep this "calm before the storm" demeanor throughout the coming Texters-Boosters series? Perhaps not, as the competitive juices are bound to flow and old tensions rise anew.

But at the moment, let's all enjoy this brilliant and admirable display by one of the league's better teams in hopes that it is followed by others.