Game Today: (Araneta Coliseum)
6 p.m. – Powerade vs. Talk ‘N Text

TALK ‘N Text missed a huge chance to close out its championship series against Powerade the other night.

The Tropang Texters do hope they won’t waste another again.

The defending champions tonight once more seek to apply an end to Powerade’s miraculous run, shooting for the clinching victory in Game Five of their best-of-seven championship showdown at the Araneta Coliseum.

Talk ‘N Text failed to deliver its killer’s instinct in Game Four, allowing Powerade to dictate the tempo of the match in the first half where it dropped behind by 14 points before witnessing its rally come up short down the stretch in a 100-97 defeat.

Instead of a sweep and a celebration of their fifth franchise title, the Texters are now left wondering and concerned.

“We need to come out stronger than Powerade and match their energy from the start,” said TNT head coach Chot Reyes. “We also need to be more efficient in our running game.”

Game Four, indeed, was a wasted opportunity for Talk ‘N Text. It had two open looks at the basket to tie the game and sent the game into overtime, but the shots of Jayson Castro and Jimmy Alapag wouldn’t knock in.

As a result, the Tigers are now seeing a window of opportunity.

“We are trying to funnel our energies into getting another win. Defense will spell the difference for us. We’re not thinking of one game at a time, but rather we’re thinking of this as one quarter at a time,” said Tigers’ coach Bo Perasol.

Gary David disproved the belief that a player who had just received a Best Player of the Conference award is bound to have an off night.

Instead, the 33-year-old scattered 35 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field while Sean Anthony had 19 points and 11 rebounds including the big basket with 39.8 seconds left that broke the last deadlock at 97.

“Buhay pa, buhay pa,” Perasol said. “I was expecting Gary not to play his best because he won the Best Player, but who am I to judge him. He really proved that he was the Best Player of the Conference.”

What worried Reyes, though, was not the offense of David.

“It was their bigs that made the difference,” said Reyes. “Their bigs outplayed our bigs. And we cannot win games if our bigs do not outscore their bigs.”

The one obviously missing in Game Four was Ranidel de Ocampo. The man who scored 21 points in Game Three including 17 in the fourth and overtime periods was held to only three points one 1-of-8 shooting from the field. Ali Peek and Kelly Williams combined for 15 points.

Anthony’s production plus the contribution of Doug Kramer (11 points) and Rommel Adducul (10) gave the Tigers big numbers from its frontline. Kramer and Adducul likewise combined for 15 rebounds.

“There’s a definite concern for us,” Reyes said. “The game (Game Four) was won by Powerade in the first half. They had a good start and our fightback just fell short. We really have no match for their wingmen.”

Perhaps what bothered Talk ‘N Text the most in Game Four was its field-goal shooting. The Texters only shot 38.6 percent from the field, only converting 34 of their 88 attempts. Powerade, on the other hand, shot 46.8 percent (37-of-79).

Only one team has forced a Game Six after going down 0-3 in the Finals. That was done by Alaska against Gordon’s Gin in 1997.

Talk ‘N Text is aiming to become only the first franchise to repeat as Philippine Cup champions in 27 years or since Great Taste accomplished it in 1984 and in 1985.

The Tigers, meantime, are eyeing to win their third franchise championship after winning the 2002 All-Filipino and the 2003 Reinforced Conference.