Long haul seen in PBA title playoff

MANILA, Philippines -  They’ve been to the PBA Finals before but Talk ‘N’ Text’s Jared (Daredevil) Dillinger and Rain Or Shine’s Gabe (Mr. President) Norwood are experiencing their first Last Dance face-off in the Philippine Cup.

After the Texters beat the Painters, 87-81, to take Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday, Norwood said he bumped into Dillinger and they both talked about their encounter.

“This is going to be a wild series,” said Norwood. â€œIt’s the first time we’re playing Talk ‘N’ Text in the Finals and what a big change from when we played B-Meg in the Governors Cup Finals last season. B-Meg was about eight guys deep but Talk ‘N’ Text can go deeper than that. We like to play a deep rotation and so do they. Anyone can step up and contribute.”

For his part, Dillinger said he expects a long series and the Texters are prepared to go the distance if necessary. â€œCoach Yeng (Guiao) is one of the best coaches in the PBA,” he said. â€œIt’s a battle out there. They play physical, they throw you down, they elbow you. That’s their game. They play physical and we expect no less. We’ve just got to be prepared to handle it.”

Dillinger put the cuffs on Jeff Chan most of the way and down the stretch, he pulled off a critical steal that took the ball away from the Painters’ chief gunner. â€œIt’s not about focusing on just one or two or three guys,” said Dillinger. â€œWe do a lot of switching. We help each other out defensively. Coach Norman (Black) wants us to focus on defense because that’s what wins championships. On offense, I try to go aggressive in mismatches. I come off screens and on the switch, I attack the mismatch.”

Dillinger said in the dugout after the game, Black reminded the players to keep working hard. â€œHe told us to report for practice the next day at 1:30 p.m. and we’ll need to focus more on rebounding and defense,” said the Daredevil. â€œFor sure, Rain Or Shine will come out strong in Game 2 so we’ve got to be ready.”

Norwood said there were positives in Game 1 that the Painters will build on. â€œWe came out on top in a lot of statistical categories,” he said. â€œWe were down by 18 and we made it close in the end even if we shot only 34.6 percent from the field. Coach Yeng isn’t going to make major adjustments, a few little tweaks. We’re not about to change what we do. We just need to shoot better. Hats off to Talk ‘N’ Text for playing tough defense on our shooters. They took away our outside shooting and forced us to attack the basket. We’ll do a better job creating good looks in Game 2.”

Norwood said Guiao didn’t fume in the dugout after the game. â€œHe told us we didn’t play our game yet we almost won in the end if only we shot better,” said Norwood. â€œWe’ll practice at 10 a.m. We’re fine. We’re a team that doesn’t give up.”

Norwood said in Game 1, it came down to making the big stops and the big shots.  After Norwood sank a free throw to close in at 79-76 with 3:08 left, Larry Fonacier buried a killer three to open a six-point gap for the Tropa and Rain Or Shine never threatened again.

Chan said he prefers the situation in the Philippine Cup than in the Governors Cup where they captured the title with import Jamelle Cornley. â€œWhen we won in the Governors Cup Finals, we relied on Jamelle a lot in the post but now, everyone has an opportunity to contribute,” he said. â€œWe’re like Talk ‘N’ Text. We’re deep. When we beat B-Meg in the Governors Cup Finals, they relied on just a few players so against Talk ‘N’ Text, we have to be ready to defend a lot of players who can hit big shots.”

Chan said Guiao’s adjustment of playing small in the fourth period fueled the Painters’ comeback. â€œWe played Jireh (Ibanes), Paul (Lee), Jervy (Cruz), Gabe and me because coach Yeng wanted to speed it up,” he related. â€œI think Ranidel (de Ocampo) started to get cramps so coach Norman kept moving his players in and out because we were outrunning them. But they hit the big shots in the end.”

Chan said a long series will favor Rain Or Shine. â€œRotation-wise, I think we have the edge in a long series,” he said. â€œWe haven’t brought out the best from guys like J.R. (Quinahan), Beau (Belga) and T.Y. (Tang). I noticed Ryan (Reyes) played only nine minutes so I don’t know if coach Norman is preserving him for a long series or he’s hurt. The team that is healthier will have a big advantage in a long series.”

As for his own performance in the series opener, Chan said Dillinger and Fonacier stuck to him like glue. â€œThey closed out on me and forced me to drive,” he said. â€œThey had a good game plan to take away our outside shooting. We’ll make adjustments in Game 2.” Chan was 0-of-4 from three-point distance and 3-of-12 overall from the field.  

The war continues in Game 2 at the MOA Arena tonight.