From all angles: Texters look unstoppable

Dillinger and Fonacier: TNT's "other" stars

Last season, before the wheels started to fall off in the telling Governor's Cup, the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters was dominating the league in the first two conferences. Not only did they win bot Philippine and Fiesta Cup, but they did so in a dominating fashion that made other teams look like guest JV squads.

The Texters' Troika of veteran sage Jimmy Alapag, sturdy and reliable Ryan Reyes and vast-emerging star Jayson Castro were running the opponents off the hardcourt. That, plus whenever the KKS Doctor Ranidel de Ocampo felt like dropping 20 and 10s, pretty much spelled doom for the rest of the PBA.


So it really isn't much of a surprise that the team is coming off a successful Philippine Cup title defense and is currently ahead of the pack given their combined championship skills and acumen. What's surprising though, is that this year, the offense (and defense) is coming from just about anyone or everyone coach Chot Reyes feels like giving the ball to.

Alapag, Castro, Reyes and De Ocampo will always be the usual suspects, but these days (as we saw last night), there are other guys like under-rated Larry Fonacier and "give me more playing time and I'll show you what I've got" Jarred Dillinger who can easily carry the cudgels for the Texters when called or relied upon.

Fonacier, to his credit, has always been the anti-Mac Cardona (for a lack of a better individual to compare him with). He shines even without the basketball, doesn't celebrate anything on the court in an over-the-top manner and has no qualms about his role in any offense/ defense. Is his game superstar material? Definitely. Is he a star? That depends on how much knowledge of the game you have.

Back then, Scottie Pippen wasn't recognized as the great player that he is today. He's always the guy who shadows Michael Jordan. End of story. BACK THEN. But today, with all the basketball prodigies and bloggers around, we are all able to recognize his brilliance, and how Pippen IS the great and valued triangle offense of the 90s Chicago Bulls while MJ was the guy who kept veering away from it.

Then there's Dillinger. A guy whose game is as explosive as it is unpredictable. Some days he looks like he's going through the motions, others, like he's bent on winning it all by himself. More scorer than complimentary player, KKS has been trying to get a "FREE THE D" campaign going if only to get this guy on a team that would allow him to dominate the basketball-- something that fits his overall skill set and athleticism (say, a direct trade with Rain or Shine for Gabe Norwood?).

In the TNT scheme of things, since Castro has been elevated to mid-starter (think Ginobli/ Caguioa during his early years), Dillinger is the guy who is asked to provide the spark off the bench. Sometimes he pulls through, others he doesn't-- depends on his shooting stroke really. Whenever his first shots go in, he becomes aggressive. When it doesn't, he tends to be passive and settles for ill-advised Js than attacking the rim.

The way things are going, man-for-man, you could say that this team is better than the one that won two titles last year-- a scary thought for the rest of the league.