In An Unfamiliar Territory

Even with the return of Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, and Ryan Reyes still Talk ‘N Text failed to notch their first win in the Governor’s Cup. Air21’s offense and defense was simply too much for the Tropang Texters to handle. Zach Graham contributed 38 points for his team and other locals for Air21 also stepped up enabling them to beat the powerhouse Talk ‘N Text. 

From the start of the first quarter all the way to the fourth quarter, the Express controlled the tempo not allowing Talk N’ Text to take the driver seat. The only lead the Tropang Texters had was when they scored the first two points of the game and after that it was Air21 all throughout the ball game. Out of frustration, Chot Reyes slammed his board on the floor during one of their huddles. 

After the loss, Talk ‘N Text are now 0-2 joining Powerade Tigers at the bottom of the standings. They are the only teams who are yet to get their first win off the tournament. This will be the first time of the Tropang Texters to be in this situation after three years. They’ve never lost two straight games in the last 5 to 6 conferences. The last time they had a poor start was against with Petron Blaze Booster during their semifinals match in the last Philippine Cup which they became the eventual champion after beating the Powerade Tigers in five games. Curiously, both Talk ‘N Text and Powerade are only the two teams who are currently win less. 

With the ability of Talk ‘N Text to find light in adverse situations, it is only a matter of time before they can get their groove back. Once they get that first win, I know they will build on that momentum and start their winning ways again. Their next game should be a must win game because of the very tough and short elimination games. If they want to give Chot Reyes a graceful exit they must start to bring back their old form. 

They are up against a very powerful team this coming Wednesday. They will be facing a complete and healthy team in Petron Blaze Boosters. The Boosters are currently undefeated and their spirits are high because Jay Washington, one of their main scorers is slowly getting his groove back. It is going to be another game tough for Talk ‘N Text and they must find a way to get that first win.

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First Game First Loss

With all the injuries hounding the camp of Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, they were defeated by their sister team in their first game in the season ending tourney.  The team appeared to be in control in the early going of first quarter leading by as many as 11 points only to squander it in the second quarter. The Meralco Bolts just took advantage of the depleted line up of Talk ‘N Text by owning the next two quarters. It was the first time that the Bolts were able to beat the Talk ‘N Text since they entered the league.

Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes, Kelly Williams, Harvey Carey, and Jimmy Alapag were absent due to some nagging injuries and family health issues. Good thing though these players will be joining the team sooner than later. Their presence is really needed since the team is up ahead with a tough schedule plus the fact that the Governor’s Cup has a very tough format too.

Without Jimmy Alapag, the team just couldn’t handle the ball very well. They gave up at least 15 turnovers and their offense was somehow in disarray. There were just too many steals by the Bolts.  They were also out-rebounded by their opponent. Nonetheless, Talk ‘N Text did show a good fight and I know that they will make some adjustments and will be better in their next game which will be this coming Saturday.

On the lighter side of the story, after missing 42 games due to an ACL injury – Aaron Aban return to the team and was immediately inserted in the starting line up. He scored 13 points in his very first game after the injury. Paul Harris was always a reliable scorer; he leads the team in scoring with 32 points but was clearly tired in the last minutes of the 4th quarter missing key shots and free throws. Talk ‘N Text is still missing the A-game of Japeth Aguilar which failed to score a single point but he had some good blocks in the early part of the game though. I can’t wait to see him show his basketball skills in the coming games.

Their next assignment is Air21 Express this coming Saturday. I am sure that they will come out stronger and this loss will serves as their motivation! Let’s go Tropa!

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Haters Gonna Hate

It is but natural that there are people who love to bash other people. In the case of Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, they seem to get sizeable amount of bashers. I don’t get it why a lot of people love to hate and mock them. Yes, they are not the perfect team. They have few players who are sometimes arrogant and love to play physical. Guess what! They are not the only team who has players like that.

Their coach is being criticized for whatever emotions he will pour during the game. His being criticized for they way he coaches his players. His every action seems to be watched closely by critics and those who are claiming to know the game very well. Their owner is being bad-mouthed more often than any other owner in the league. The players are being labeled as arrogant and all other negative things.

Every time they are winning, people are quick to judge that MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan) paid the referees. Don’t be ridiculous people! They are very capable of winning just like any other team in the PBA! Through the years, the management was able to form a very formidable team. A team consists of players who know how to win games. Players that are highly talented but they are willing to sacrifice their individual skills for the good of the whole team. They wouldn't be able to reach the finals for the 5th straight times if they are not capable of playing great basketball.

When the ball club inked Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes, a lot of people are saying that they are being greedy because they are getting the best players of the league. Have they forgotten that SMC actually has three teams and that they have most of the best players in the PBA today? What about Petron Blaze Boosters? What do you call their recent move to acquire Marcio Lassiter? Isn’t that greediness on their part? If you take a look at the line up of Petron Blaze Boosters now, all of their players can be a starter!

Haters of the team find it so easy to taunt the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters to the point that they getting way out of line. They find it amusing whenever they can insult any member of the ball club. Win or lose, these so-called haters never run out criticism for the whole organization. Why can’t they just focus on supporting their own team? Why can’t they save their harsh comments to themselves? Well, I guess that’s part of the game.

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Governor's Cup Video Promotion

PBA's third conference also known as the Governor's Cup will kick off this coming May 20 at the Smart Araneta coliseum.

All 10 teams will again battle it out for the right to take home the Governor's Cup trophy. It will be an import laden tourney but this time around a height limit was imposed to all imports. Imports should not be taller than 6 feet and 4 inches.

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters hired again the services of Paul Harris, the same import who gave them the Commissioner's Cup trophy last year. He was also named Best Import during that time.

Before all the actions in the court, the PBA gave the fans three interesting video promotions for the upcoming tourney.

The first video featured Air21 Express' Ren Ren Ritualo and Petron Blaze Boosters' Alex Cabagnot. The second video featured Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters' Ali Peek and Alaska Aces' Cyrus Baguio. The last video featured Meralco Bolts' Asi Taulava and Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters' Jayson Castro.

Videos coutesy of interAKTV

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Ryan "The Energizer" Reyes Interview

I watched this video about a few months ago and I find him really cute when speaking Tagalog. I am happy that he is actually trying to speak the native language of the country.

Ryan Reyes was picked third overall by the Sta Lucia Realtors during the 2007 rookie draft and winning over Joe DeVance and Samigue Eman for the Rookie of the Year award.

Honestly, I never really had an idea that Ryan was already making a lot of impact in Sta Lucia during his rookie years. I don't even know that he's already playing in the PBA. During the time that he entered the PBA, I was not that active in watching games because of my work. I had no idea that he played a pivotal role for his former team's championship in the 2007-2008 season. 

Talk 'N Text acquired Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams in 2010 in what would be one of the most controversial trades in the PBA history. He instantly made an impact in the team's defensive side. His usual role is to defend the opponent's go to guy and more often than not he's successful in forcing the opponent to make ugly shots. Not only he is good in defense, he can also score anytime he wants to.

To prove his defensive prowess, during the Game 5 of the Philippine Cup Championship against the Powerade Tigers, Ryan had 10 steals. He was just all over the court trying to force a turn over. He was just amazing during the third quarter of that game. 

Here's a full story of his great defensive effort of that game that  helped the Talk 'N Text grab the Philippine Cup trophy. Defensive demon: Ryan Reyes’ dominance goes beyond steals record

Video courtesy of takntexttv

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That Heartbreaking Loss

May 06, 2012, game 7 of the Commissioner's Cup between two heavyweights and equally talented teams in the PBA - the Bmeg Llamados and the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. My heart was beating so fast and my hands were shaking during the dying seconds. In my mind, Talk 'N Text is on its way to defending their Commissioner's Cup trophy and their hopes for a grand slam this season is within reach. I was already jumping up and down until that last second call by the referee and all of a sudden the joy turned to anxiety. 

Denzel Bowles made his crucial two free throws and they needed five more minutes to decide who's the winner. Before that crucial seconds, Donnell Harvey already was out of the game and I just knew that my team will be in a lot of danger because there was nobody to defend Bowles.

I watched Denzel Bowles wrecking havoc, one shot after the other and I watched my team slowly sinking. I watched Jimmy Alapag being carried out of the court due to cramps. I witnessed Ryan Reyes screaming in pain after a bad fall. Jayson Castro fell on the floor and Ali Peek fouling out. Those were too much of a scene for me to watch. I did not finish the game because it will only make cry.

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Under The New Name

In 2001, the team was then again renamed to Talk 'N Text Phone Pals after Piltel became a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MNVO) in 2000.

Then in 2003, the team drafted two Filipino – American players namely Harvey Carey (3rd overall pick) and Jimmy Alapag (10th overall pick), the latter was with the RP national pool in 2002. Asi Taulava also returned to the team after getting the approval of the Department of Justice. Even with the addition of the two rookies and the returned of their formidable center, the team still struggled early in the All Filipino tournament that prompted their then foreign coach to leave. Joel Banal took over the coaching duties and things started to fall into place for them. They finally had their first ever championship trophy. After the 2003 season, Asi Taulava was named of Most Valuable Player while partner Jimmly Alapag won the Rookie of the Year.

Over the years, the team faced several controversies and made some major changes within the team. Asi Taulava was traded and a new coach was hired. This move was made to improve the team performance in the league.

The team had a final change of name in 2008, this time calling it Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters. They have also acquired fresh talents in names of Jared Dillinger and Jayson Castro. They also participated in a very controversial deal that would send Sta Lucia’s top players Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes to the team.

After struggling for so many years, the team finally found its perfect roster. Having won 3 championships in their 5 straight finals appearances, the team is making a dynasty in the Philippine Basketball Association!

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The Entry of Mobiline Phone Pals

Pepsi Hotshots, this was the first name of the Talk n Text Tropang Texters. Luis F. Lorenzo Sr. of Pepsi Philippines first owned the team that also had several name changes. 7-Up Bottlers and Pepsi Mega Bottlers were the other names of the team. It was granted an expansion franchise prior to the 1990 PBA season.

Then in 1996, Pilipino Telephone Corporation acquired the franchise and the team's name was again changed to Mobiline Cellulars and eventually to Mobiline Phone Pals. 

In 1997, the franchise got the first overall pick from the Pop Cola bottlers and they chose Andrew John Seigle. They also drafted the likes of Patrick Fran and Tony Boy Espinosa. They inked former rookie of the year Jeffrey Cariaso via a trade from Alaska. Getting a championship seemed to be an elusive dream for the team as they kept on failing short. Then it was during the 1998 Philippine Centennial Cup that the team finally won a championship despite the absence of two top players, AJ Siegle and Jeffrey Cariason which were both loaned to the Philippine team. However, the Centennial Cup was just a special tournament and their title was not considered as an official championship.

After the team failed to advance to the finals for next succeeding conferences, the team acquired the Fil-Tongan Asi Taulava. The had a solid start but still failed to advance past the quarterfinals. Then came the issue of Taulava's eligibility that eventually saw the big guy being deported. The team had major changes in their line-up including the acquisition of veterans like Jerry Codinera and Vic Pablo. The team also had several changes in the coaching staff hoping that their standings would be better. Still, the fate of the team remained the same.

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For The Love Of The Game

My love for basketball can be traced all the way back to my pre-teen years. My sister and I were fond of collecting NBA cards back then. Our favorite NBA player before was Grant Hill, we would spend most of our savings buying anything about him. I remember, I even had a huge poster of him courtesy of Sprite. We would always watch NBA games on TV and we witnessed how Michael Jordan ruled the most famous sports in the world.

I grew up in a neighborhood where boys outnumbered the girls. So I would be playing with the boys most of the time since I don't really like girly games. One of my childhood friends has a brother who is into basketball a lot and that's where I started to love the game. I always go with him whenever he's playing in our basketball  court.

Then I began playing the sport with my guy friends. We would play even under the heat of the sun. What made me hooked to it even more was the fact that I defeated them most of the time. Back then, I spent most of my afternoon playing or watching street basketball.

When I was already in high school, my mother would not allow me to play anymore because girls are not supposed to be playing that kind of sport. So to keep me from missing my favorite sport, I made sure that I will be able to watch NBA games whenever I can. When Grant Hill's career was slowing down and  with the retirement of Michael Jordan, the NBA for me was getting less exciting. So my addiction to PBA started!

Again, my sister and I were huge fans of Purefoods and it's captain ball Alvin Patrimonio. They were under the name of Coney Island that time. We would shout our lungs out in every game. We were so crazy back then with Alvin Patrimonio and the gang. We're the happiest sisters in the world every time they win a championship.

Then came the entry of Mobiline Phone Pals. I just knew that this will be the new team that I will be rooting for.

To be continued.....

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