Texters dominant over gun-shy Aces

Machine Gun Kelly

This was as ugly a semifinals basketball game could get.

Players from both Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters and the Alaska Aces were jittery, they were over eager and looked to be out of their collective wits on the floor to start. Thankfully, PBA MVP and the heart and soul of the Texters' attack-- Jimmy Alapag, got the starting nod from Coach Norman Black and decided to take over the game without putting up points.

Alapag went to work early, looking for his bigs and making them work the Aces' frontline relentlessly. Kelly Williams, another former PBA MVP, shone thanks to Alapag always making sure to keep him involved in the offense. The adjustment made by Coach Black was clear: make the Aces' prized big man Sonny Thoss work hard on defense.
No longer was Williams just waiting for drop passes or simply positioning himself for putbacks and rebounds. Tonight, he was getting plays called for him. Plays designed to make Thoss extend himself and be at the mercy of Williams' speed and athleticism. We're not saying that Williams was blowing past Thoss, it's just the simple difference between a great post defender and a perimeter defender (that's why guys like Arwind Santos and Marc Pingris are deemed special). Unable to keep in step with Williams, Thoss was burned over and over. And, when Aces' coach Luigi Trillo sent him over to guard Ranidel de Ocampo, the Texters' other big man simply parked outside the three point line waiting for gimmes (which in turn pulled Thoss out of the rebounding picture).

We'll leave the officiating to the PBA Commissioner's Office to worry about. There were a lot of mistakes in tonight's game. Also, the calls were being made a little too one-sided. For the Aces, it was almost like they were playing in the Noli Eala era were handcheck fouls were given aplenty. For the Texters, they were looking like a meaner (and leaner) Rain or Shine squad.

For the Aces to bounce back, they need starting PG JVee Casio to look for his points early and help spread the floor. Their offense was so predictable that all the Texters did the entire night was to simply clog the paint in anticipation of a Thoss post-up (which has become surprisingly unstoppable one-on-one). When that wasn't working, they went to star Cyrus Baguio's one-on-one forays which were more of bail-out shots than anything.

Rookie Calvin Abueva needs to also be constantly reminded to keep his wits about him. Tonight he was simply toyed with by the Texters' veteran line-up and appears to have met his match in Ryan Reyes who is just as energetic, but about 20-30 pounds heavier than the former King Stag. The Aces need to attack early and not let-up, the triangle offense needs to be realigned and the game needs to be played inside-out, not purely inside-inside-inside and just pray that Thoss is able to deliver. Floor spacing will be the key for them, Thoss needs his shooters to be ready.