It's the paradox of teamwork. Coaches always preach selflessness. Pass the ball. Look for the open man. But with seconds to go in the game, decisions are sometimes no longer shared responsibilities. The ideal gives way to the individual. Chances are, for one possible winning play, for a particular night, one player must decide the fate of the entire franchise. Ranidel de Ocampo had the shot towards the end of Game 4. He could've tied the game for Talk 'N Text. He missed. No way of knowing if Jason Castro could've done better. Or Jimmy Alapag. Or Ryan Reyes. There probably is no unanimous answer. Except that it will never be Gilbert Lao. Because think about it: who should have the ball if a game is close? Which TNT star should have the ball in his hands when a game is measured not by kilometers per hour, as Talk 'N Text prefers, but by feet and inches?
So far in the playoffs, Talk 'N Text looks more awesome when they're significantly ahead; when their running game resembles the running of the Bulls in Pamplona. But when a game goes down the wire, TNT, by reputation, is just not as fearsome. Awesome when ahead, vulnerable when it's close. Is this a fair reading of the league's top-ranked team? Is it the Texters' fault their high-energy game tends to blast weaker opponents into smithereens?
Knowing Chot Reyes, he'll smirk it off. He wishes Talk 'N Text was awesome under any circumstance. Up by 10. Down by 10. Doesn't matter. But by Game 5, it will matter. Although Harvey Carey finally reappeared in Game 4 (his game was hibernating since the series against B-Meg Derby Ace) and Ryan Reyes continued to earn votes for the No-Guts-No-Glory award (14 points, seven rebounds on zero sleep and an emotionally-drained body), facing the bottom-line is unavoidable.
Talk 'N Text's 2-0 lead is history. Castro's magic spell over San Miguel defenders has apparently vanished as well. Chot Reyes also hopes Ali Peek and Kelly Williams will emerge from invisible cloaks. Because it's already tough to look awesome against a title-contender like San Miguel. It's even tougher to look awesome when a team squanders a 2-0 series lead. And toughest to look awesome when the opponent now enjoys the edge in momentum, emotion and, ironically the very thing that should set Talk 'N Text apart, energy.
Talk 'N Text was probably one cramps-free Ryan Reyes or one De Ocampo jumpshot away from a 3-1 lead. It's the type of advantage they prefer. There's less pressure to identify a closer; a player everyone on the opposing side expects to shoot, a player everyone inside the arena expects to convert. And more opportunities to showcase the fabulous flow of TNT's push-until-they-collapse-dribble-penetrate-kick out-game. The Texters' awesome 2-0 advantage is gone. All that's left is the awesome challenge to bounce back
Mico Halili, GMA News TV
