Test of will, character stirs up title duel

In a title duel of teams with contrasting styles, it will be a question of character and determination when Alaska and Talk n Text begin their showdown for the KFC PBA Philippine Cup crown at the Araneta Coliseum tomorrow.

The best-of-seven playoff, which starts at 7:30 p.m., pits the Aces, who dethroned the Sta. Lucia Realtors with their deliberate half-court set, against the Tropang Texters, whose up-tempo game foiled the San Miguel Beermen in their fightback.

To hype the duel, some are calling the series as offense versus defense or youth versus experience. Others label it as a Macmac Cardona versus Willie Miller series or a Jimmy Alapag versus LA Tenorio clash.

But for coaches Tim Cone and Chot Reyes, the series boils down to which team can impose their tempo over the other.

“This series will provide different feels to both teams, far different from the semis where Talk n Text was up against San Miguel and Alaska versus Sta. Lucia. Talk n Text and San Miguel play the same way and so do Alaska and Sta. Lucia. This series will be different,” said Cone.

“We’re not going to run up and down the floor. We’ll play half-court game, doing the triangle offense. We’ll try to impose our tempo and I’m sure they will do the same. The series will be dictated by tempo. It will come down to discipline of players from each side. Each one will try to bring the game to its comfort zone,” Cone said.

“This is a battle of contrasting styles. My main concerns are, first, can we score against Alaska’s defense and, second, can we defend against their triangle,” said Reyes.

Ranidel de Ocampo will miss Game One as he’s serving a game suspension for a flagrant foul penalty 2 infraction against Lordy Tugade in Game Six of the TnT-SMB semis showdown.

Miller, meanwhile, will play with a sore shoulder sustained in a collision with Dennis Espino in the Alaska-Sta. Lucia semis duel.

Cone and Reyes insisted, though, that it’s going to be a hard-nosed battle between two teams with enormous talents that a mere absence of a player or two won’t defuse the impact of the series.

“No doubt Talk n Text is not stronger in Ranidel’s absence. But that’s not a guarantee of an advantage for us. They have lots of weapons and lots of versatility,” said Cone.

“Ranidel is a huge part of our team, but we’ve shown, that minus him, we can find a way to win. For one, Yancy is back and he’ll take the cudgels. It’s the finals and we’ll go hammer and thongs to win,” said Reyes.

Among the side battles in the series include the tight Cardona-Miller race for the Best Player of the Conference honors and the rekindled rivalry between Cone and Reyes.

“Who wouldn’t want to win an award? But in this case, I’ll just play the best I can to help the team win the championship. If the award comes, thank you. If not, so be it,” said Cardona.

The former La Salle Archer won the BPC award in the 2007 Fiesta Conference but Talk n Text was beaten by Alaska for the championship.

“I really wished to meet them in this finals so that we can have a crack at getting back at them,” said Cardona.

Cone didn’t consider this as a rematch, pointing out that Talk n Text now has a new bunch of guys playing under a new coach.

As he guns for a fourth All-Filipino crown and 12th championship overall for Alaska, Cone is up against Reyes with whom he has an even 2-2 record in title duels.

“This is going to be bitter-sweet for both of us. We’re good friends, our wives are good friends. I don’t want him to be sad and depressed if you beat him, and I don’t want to be sad and depressed either,” said Cone.