Please call again later

Did Captain Jimmy retire a bit too early?
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

So winning a (single) championship DOES take a toll on a team when asked to do it all over again the very next conference.

No one bought it in the PBA Commissioner's Cup with the sudden drop in performance of the San Miguel Beermen but now we see that the same conference's title-winners, Talk'n'Text Tropang Texters, are suffering the same slow-start fate as the PBA Philippine Cup champions. On a side note we'd like to half-heartedly apologize to the San Miguel Beermen (we still think they could've and should've done better, given their overall roster), on another, we'd like to think that if a team like the Purefoods Star Hotshots could manage to rattle off four straight, then so should the other souped up teams like SMB and TNT (at least two consecutive titles, yes?)

So here is where the Texters are, currently:

Three wins and four losses.

Good enough to save the franchise from suffering the same cellar-dwelling embarrassment that the Beermen unfortunately experienced somewhere last conference, but not good enough to meet the team's usual lofty standards.

Imports Steffphon Pettigrew (28 ppg 13 rpg 1 apg) and Asian 6"3 reinforcement Sam Daghles  (11 ppg 6 rpg 6 apg) are leading the way, with Jayson Castro (23 ppg 4 rpg 5 apg) and Ranidel de Ocampo (12 ppg 5 rpg 3 apg) providing ample support. Those four guys serve as the catalyst to the Texters' attack, with everyone from Larry Fonacier to Danny Seigle and Willie Miller chipping in here and there.

So why the sudden drop to mediocrity?

Well, the Texters did spend the first few games minus Castro and de Ocampo. Plus, rookie spark plug Kevin Alas has been ruled out of the conference due to injury. There's also the drop in Matt Ganuelas Rosser's overall impact but that was somewhat expected owing to Pettigrew's presence.

Harvey Carey, Kelly Williams and Jay Washington.

These three guys helped the Texters win that title just a few weeks ago.

Now?

Like Rosser, they are struggling for minutes behind Pettigrew. Such is the case for a team that chose to stack itself with hybrid 4 wingmen which unfortunately is the same position that a regular 6"4-6"7 import would play.

How can the Texters solve this conundrum, when they cannot go shopping for a bigger reinforcement?

Well, unfortunately, they can't.

There's no need to trade any of the locals for a traditional center. Head coach Jong Uichico and his staff just need to figure out how they can utilize their assortment of wings versus a field that features 4 7"0 reinforcements, and 3 other local teams with 6"9 guys.

How about that swarming defense they pulled on Rain or Shine in the ... oh, wait. RoS doesn't have a 7"0 monster.

That Moala Tautuaa pick sure looks pretty nice right about now.