Date with destiny for Texters

Texters: blue-collar
and no-frills basketball

As the mighty Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters set their sights on winning the PBA Philippine Cup for the third straight year and earning for themselves the beautiful Jun Bernardino Perpetual Trophy, let's not forget when this "commitment to winning" all began to take shape.

Granted, no one forms a PBA team to simply be part of Asia's first, premier basketball league (okay, with the exception of any and all Lina franchises)-- they're all here to win titles and contend for years. That's how teams are built, with dreams of confetti raining down the high ceilings of the glorious and historic SMART Araneta Coliseum and fans and supporters of the winning team lost in jubilation. The Texters enjoyed some degree of success during their formative years, they built it around one Asi Taulava-- a 6"9 Fil-Tonggan who is a legit behemoth compared to his peers at the center position.

But then came a long, dry spell that raised a lot of question marks. Did the Texters reach their ceiling with Taulava and point guard extraordinaire Jimmy Alapag? The league was changing, athletes were coming in waves and the Texters weren't getting it done despite having the league's most imposing big man and who is today arguably the yardstick for quality floor generals. 

So, in a surprising move, the Texters made an example of the kind-hearted, larger-than-life and jolly Taulava. Banishing him elsewhere in a 2007 trade for a guy who plays the same position but is inches shorter and not as much of a TV presence. This put all of the Texters on notice-- a clear message by management that they need to get their acts together and that they need to start winning.

Now SMART Gilas head coach Chot Reyes came on board, and the pieces to the now dominant Texters' puzzle came together. A culture of winning was formed, to approach the game in a business-like manner and forget about the rest of the hooliganism and theatrics (next to go was Mark Cardona who, for a time, became the "face" of the Texters). They played the right way, they didn't take nights off and when healthy, won championships one after the other. It's undeniable really, this "culture" that the Texters have. They compete with one another, but there's a level of unbreakable trust and bond. 

This is a far cry from the "every man for himself" way they do it over at San Miguel wherein heads are sure to roll when someone better is made available-- chemistry and what not be damned. They hardly call each other out (the Texters players anyway, Coach Chot always throws his guys under the bus but probably just to psych them up for the next game) in public or private.

Now with coach Norman Black, the familiarity and bond has extended to the defensive end. There was a time when the Texters' weren't as sound defensively. They would run teams to the ground because of their firepower, but game-changing stops were only made available via a Ryan Reyes-triggered play. Now? Even Jarred Dillinger is a legit one-on-one stopper and they hardly blow any defensive assignments because of the rotation and switching.

There's no finger pointing, no, "that was your man," just business. Straight up, grown men handling their business like professionals.

And you know what? No matter how methodical (and boring just because they're too damn good) they are to watch on television, you just can't argue with success.

Much more the commitment that drives them.