Thorpe's fate with Giants up vs Burger

MANILA, Philippines - Jahmar Thorpe will be put under the microscope today as Purefoods Tender Juicy, still trying to get into the groove, tangles with Burger King in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

Talk n Text, hit by injuries to Yancy de Ocampo and Rob Reyes during the league break, takes on Sta. Lucia Realty in the day’s other game.

“Thorpe will play against Burger King, then we’ll decide,” said Purefoods governor Rene Pardo in a text message to The STAR.

Purefoods is in a dilemma to choose between Thorpe and Marquin Chandler with the latter now available to play with the Giants, having completed his stint in the Korean league.

The Giants are 1-1 (win-loss) with Thorpe in tow, bowing to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 90-110, on March 25 then rebounding with an 89-80 win over the Coca-Cola Tigers five days later. The former Houston Cougar averaged only 21.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in those games.

Chandler, a former San Jose Spartan, powered the Giants to a runner-up finish behind the Red Bull Barakos in the reinforced tourney in 2006. He was cut after 15 games in his return stint with the team in 2007 due to an injury.

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, however, is optimistic Thorpe can now perform better, having worked out with the team extensively during the league break.

“Given the time with the team, I expect Jahmar to play a lot better,” said Gregorio.

“The long break gave us an opportunity to get better on many aspects of the game. We’re looking at it as an important break to make us sharper and not rustier,” Gregorio added. “Defense was given emphasis, and playing BK is a good test to evaluate the preparations that we did in the last 20 days.”

The Whoppers are half-game ahead of the Giants at 4-3, enjoying tremendous lift from top guns Arwind Santos and Gary David.

The Realtors, meanwhile, are a game in front of the Whoppers at 5-2, performing pretty well despite a number of players playing half-healthy.

Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez said they spent the league break making some adjustments on their patterns and allowing injured players to get back into competitive form.

“It’s a productive break but Talk n Text is likely to give us a tough test. Talk n Text is the No. 1 offensive team in the league right now. We’ll come out and play with a defensive mentality,” said Fernandez.

“For as long as we’re able to cope with their running game, we have a good chance to win,” Fernandez added.