Texters load up; Series tied 2-2

You may hate the shirt, but you have
to love the multiple championships

Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters' head coach Chot Reyes does it again.

After throwing stars Ranidel de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag under the bus in the post-game interview of their Game 3 loss, Coach Chot was able to make himself look like half a genius with RDO's solid bounce-back performance.

While Alapag continues to struggle with his cover of BMeg Llamados' Josh Urbiztondo and PJ Simon, RDO was able to play free tonight-- attacking the rim and not settling for jumpers. It also helped the Texters' cause that Jarred Dillinger decided to take over the game, as KKS predicted, and played lights out on offense and defense.



From Simon to James Yap, Dillinger was causing all sorts of headaches for the hapless Llamados. Simon, as great as he is on offense, is a dud on defense. Yap, as improved as he is under Coach Tim Cone, is a slow-footed, B class defender at best. So yeah, it was about damn time that Dillinger took over and looked for his points on the floor.

What other adjustments did Coach Chot and the Texters did that gave them an emphatic 100-85 Game 4 victory?

They went BEEF.

The Llamados have a tall, athletic five with Simon, Yap, Intal, Pingris and Bowles-- Coach Tim's preferred line-up during the 2nd and 3rd quarters to ensure that the Texters' guards- Alapag, Jayson Castro and Ryan Reyes are well-covered.

What did Coach Chot do?

He went to almost forgotten, undersized yet beefy power forwards Harvey Carey and Ali Peek.

It's one thing to be taller than your opponent, it's another to be beefier than they are.

Pingris for one, wasn't as effective as in previous games because he couldn't cut inside the lane for putbacks and O/D rebounds. Not with Carey bodying up on him, and definitely not with Peek's wide, NFL-like, shoulders muscling him out of the paint.

Same with the Llamados' young import Denzel Bowles-- though he's clearly half a foot taller than Peek and or Carey, he was being pushed out of his comfort zone 8 to 12 feet from the basket. This forced him to take jumpers and though he was making them early, it's definitely not something you want to see from your 7"0 reinforcement and only option in the low post.

Once the Texters flexed their muscle in the paint, the Llamados was forced to play perimeter-style basketball. Usually you'd think that this favors them more given the firepower coming from Yap, Simon, Josh Urbiztondo and even Joe DeVance and JC Intal-- but those guys were busy battling with the Texters' guards who just refused to be outclassed and didn't want to be buried 1-3 in this series.

A major adjustment that Coach Tim should consider is putting in a defensive minded guard (hello Jonas Villanueva) together with James Yap and PJ Simon and go with crossmatches. Villanueva is big, strong and smart enough to possibly keep Dillinger from exploding yet again, while Yap and Simon can go cover Alapag and Castro (easier said than done, but at this point, Castro's hurt so perhaps the Llamados' scoring duo will have a better chance at staying in front of The Blur).

The end-game physicality? Well, you have to hand it to rookie Pamboy Raymundo. The guy threw the first elbow on a defensive play that met Urbiztondo's jaw. The technicals and flagrants that followed- well, they all deserved it. Tim Cone falling on his ass and refusing to get up right away? That was a classic.

If the Texters keep to their Game 4 formula and use their muscle inside while their guards do their part on D, then this series is as good as over. Pressure's on Coach Tim to make the correct adjustments and maybe consider bringing in an enforcer of his own (read: not Rafi Reavis) just to send a message.

Who? How about dusting off Jerwin Gaco?