Unacceptable way to lose

Talk ‘N’ Text blew a chance to steal Game 2 from B-Meg in the closing seconds of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday and coach Chot Reyes said it was an unacceptable way to lose.

More than anyone, Reyes felt the pain and anguish of defeat because in his mind, the game was virtually in the bag. With the Tropa down by three and about 40 seconds left, Reyes told his boys in a timeout “if we score in the next play, we’ll win it.” Reyes knew B-Meg had no timeouts left.

The Texters inbounded and needed a quick two to gain a shot at the last possession. It took only a few ticks for Kelly Williams to throw down a two-handed dunk from a Ranidel de Ocampo alley-oop off a back-pick. Talk ‘N’ Text moved to within a point, time down to 37.4 seconds.

B-Meg’s P. J. Simon then missed a jumper and with about 12 seconds to play, Larry Fonacier rifled an outlet to Ryan Reyes. The ball went to the far right corner instead of down the middle and Reyes had to scamper to retrieve it. He whipped a pass to De Ocampo who appeared to lose his footing. The ball wound up with Jimmy Alapag at the top of the key. Alapag drove in and while in flight, elected to dish off to Reyes on his right side close to the basket. Alas, James Yap stole the ball and B-Meg held on to win, 88-87.

During those last few seconds, there were three occasions where Talk ‘N’ Text could’ve called a timeout – when Reyes saved the ball from going out of bounds, when De Ocampo took the pass from Reyes and when Alapag got it from top of the key. While B-Meg had no timeouts left, the Texters had one full and two 30-seconders remaining.

Reyes frantically tried to catch his players’ attention to call a timeout but the seconds whizzed by so quickly that nobody on the floor thought of it. Worse, the Texters went without even making an attempt in the final play.

“Unbelievable how none of them (called a timeout),” lamented Reyes. “Even more amazing that we had five max salary players on the floor and weren’t able to get a shot off in 10 seconds ...unacceptable way to lose.”

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Reyes recalled that it was Fonacier who pitched the outlet to Reyes with about 10 seconds left. Eventually, the ball found its way in Alapag’s hands. “Jimmy drove looking to score but got hit with cramps so was forced to pass to Ryan,” he continued. “It wasn’t really a pass. Jim just threw it up in the air when cramps hit.”

It was so unlike Alapag to pass up a shot with the game on the line. Earlier in the same quarter, he repeatedly drove strong to the hole and got to the free throw line. Heart has never been an issue with Alapag. There’s no question he’s one of the gutsiest players in the league.

Reyes’ explanation that Alapag was hit by cramps made sense of what he did. That’s why Alapag opted to pass instead of go for the shot. The pain took away his lift. And Yap was right in the frame to intercept.

Former Talk ‘N’ Text team manager and San Beda College coach Frankie Lim, watching at courtside, said you wouldn’t expect the Texters to call a timeout in the dying seconds because they had a two-on-none fastbreak situation.

“We were in transition,” said Lim. “It was just breaks of the game. We had a chance to win it in the end. We never gave up. We were down 15 but kept fighting back.”

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B-Meg governor Rene Pardo said it was incredible how the Derby Ace Llamados played particularly as Yap missed practice the day before with the flu, Marc Pingris suffered a sprain at practice and Rico Maierhofer sat out the last two practices with an eye infection.

“Before the game, I didn’t know if those three guys could play,” said Pardo. “That’s why James was in and out of the court. He wasn’t well. But he still made the big plays. So did Rico and Marc.”

Yap cooled his heels on the bench for about five minutes before coach Jorge Gallent brought him back on the floor with two minutes to go. He sank the marginal free throw and made the steal that closed out the game. Maierhofer delivered 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot with no turnover in 18 solid minutes while Pingris came through with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists. The man of the hour, however, was Simon who erupted for 28 points, nine in the fourth quarter.

The Texters were limited to only 12 assists, nine below their usual, and had 23 turnovers, seven more than B-Meg. Still, they fell short by just a field goal to win.

Pardo said center Rafi Reavis has resumed playing in scrimmages and may be ready to go in Game 3 tonight. Reavis, recovered from a finger fracture, said he’s itching to get back on the court. But Gallent said Reavis isn’t 100 percent and “I don’t want to gamble.” If B-Meg lost Game 2, maybe, Gallent would risk playing Reavis tonight.

What brought Talk ‘N’ Text back in the contest was the Tropa’s rebounding. The Texters finished with 57 rebounds, eight more than B-Meg, and also more second chance points, 14-2. That’s an area Gallent will want to focus on in Game 3. For Reyes, turning around the Texters’ 12-to-23 assist-to-turnover ratio in Game 2 is a priority.

Postscript: Not too many fans know that the late Vice Mayor Vicente (Tiko) Maristela of Aroroy, Masbate, was a former national football player in the ‘70s. Maristela, 60, was killed in an ambush in Quezon City last Tuesday. He played for Don Bosco high school and San Beda College in the NCAA seniors. Among his teammates on the national squad were Jose Mari and Tony Martinez, Pepito Genato and Tonio Gutierrez. Maristela, a bull-strong fullback, earned an enviable reputation as a stopper. He went on to play for the Blue Guards in the commercial leagues. Former Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Johnny Romualdez said Maristela ran a successful football grassroots development program in Masbate with his brother-in-law and former national teammate Leo Granatin. Romualdez described Maristela as “a football hero in his own quiet way, a rabid implementor of the PFF grassroots development program from its start up to today (with) many of his products now playing in Manila’s top schools.” Maristela served three straight terms as Aroroy mayor before sliding down to vice mayor this year. His wake is at Chapel 1, Heritage Park Mortuary. Interment will be after the 10 a.m. Mass tomorrow.