Bowles Yap ready to move on Game 2 Blunders

After a nightmare finish in Game Two of the Commissioner’s Cup finals Wednesday night, B-MEG import was in no mood to talk — not even to his mother, Veronica, who has been in Manila the past couple of weeks to watch her son strut his stuff on the court.
“I just went straight to bed,” said Bowles, who had a great game with 33 points and 13 rebounds, but missed key shots and had a crucial error near the end of the game, to allow Talk ‘N Text to escape with the win and tie the series 1-all.
A day later, Bowles said he’s moved on.
“Last night, I was hurt, but today, I don’t think about that anymore. It’s in the past, there’s nothing more I can do about it,” he said.
At just 22 years old, Bowles’ game has steadily matured this conference, which has seen him bounce back from various missteps. After B-MEG lost to a Talk ‘N Text team that was playing without an import, Bowles led the Llamados to victory in four of their next five games. After back-to-back loss against Ginebra and Meralco in the playoffs, it was Bowles who stepped up and carried the team past through the quarterfinals and semifinals to lead the Purefoods franchise back to the championship round for the first time since 2010.
Bowles said he knows he has adjustments to make on his game, particularly against Talk ‘N Text veteran import Donnell Harvey, who scored 29 points in Game Two.
“I’ve got to step up on defense. I don’t really worry about my offense,” he said, adding that B-MEG remains confident in the series.
“I don’t really like talking, I just want to let my game speak for itself, but we know we can beat that team.”
‘Medyo natakam ako’
Like Bowles, Yap turned from hero to heel for the Llamados at the end of Game Two.
The two-time Most Valuable Player had, by far, his finest game in the tournament, scoring 25 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting and grabbing eight rebounds, despite matching up for most of the game against the taller Kelly Williams.
But he shot an ill-advised fadeaway jumper in the dying seconds of the game that robbed B-MEG of a better opportunity to go for a go-ahead basket.
“Medyo natakam ako,” said Yap.
“Pagkatira ko, alam kong wrong decision talaga. Sayang, kasi isang fake pa sana, kagat na yun. Pero kung pumasok naman yun…”
But he said that despite their endgame blunders, he and Bowles should keep their heads up.
“Eto yung panahon na kailangan hindi kami ma-discourage. We need to adjust and move on.”
Credit to Castro
Yap gave credit to the resilient Talk ‘N Text squad, especially Jayson Castro, who scored six straight points including the go-ahead three-pointer with less than two minutes left in the game.
“Alam naman nating magaling siya, at saka may napatunayan na talaga,” said Yap.
“Tsaka ang gameplan talaga namin sa kanya, medyo mag-sag ng konti, kasi ambilis niya eh. Kung hindi niya na-shoot yung three-points, panalo sana kami. Pero kaya nga natin sinasabing bilog ang bola eh.”
Shooting slump over?
One source of optimism for Yap and the Llamados was his shooting performance, and he deferred some of the credit to his bosom buddy Peter June Simon, the hero of B-MEG’s Game One victory.
“Medyo nalibre lang. Naka-concentrate kasi sila kay PJ,” said Yap.
The matchup against Williams, he said, came as no surprise to him. While Talk ‘N Text usually assigned defensive specialist Ryan Reyes to guard him, the Tropang Texters also had to worry about Simon.
“Ine-expect ko na yun, personally. Kasi hirap na hirap sila kay PJ, walang maka-matchup sa kanya, kaya kailangang ilagay sa kanya si Ryan.”

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CONE, REYES WANT EXTRA EFFORT

B-MEG coach Tim Cone can't stress enough the need for his charges to dig deep within themselves and
find the energy and intensity for an even better game. 

So does his Talk N Text counterpart, Chot Reyes.

It is with such similar intents as backdrop that the Llamados and Tropang Texters square off anew
Wednesday in Game 2 of their PBA Commissioner's Cup championship duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

B-Meg took the best-of-seven series opener 88-82 last Monday after making the defensive stops while
pouncing on TNT's atrocious shooting from both the stripes and the field.

How to follow that act up is Cone's main concern.

"I've said it before, that for us to win back-to-back games takes extra effort," said Cone.

His own players finding the will and touch following a dismal performance gnaws at Reyes. 

The Texters made only 29 of 75 field attempts but it was his team's 16-for-36 foul shooting,
including a 3-for-10 clip in the decisive fourth period, that rankled Reyes most. 

"in the crucial moments we kept missing," said Reyes. "We had too many turnovers, missed too many
shots, and they outrebounded us. But in the end, if we missed 10 less free throws than we did we
could have won. 

"That's basketball. We need to put that ball through the hoop. In this game, we just couldn't."

Cone, however, won't be so easily deceived and knows there are other areas Reyes and his staff would
be working on. 

"They'll look at the tapes, see what we've been doing, the pick-and-rolls, and also what we're
trying to take away. They'll see those," said Cone.

"I've always felt the loser in a series has the advantage coming into the next game," he added.
"They will make the adjustments and we have to make quick reactions in the course of the game. It
could be difficult doing that. They have 48 hours to decide what to do."

Cone and his staff will also be looking at the tapes and would sure be having the Llamados
sharpening their three-point shooting after making only 1-for-8 to the Texters' 8-for-25 clip from
beyond the arc. Free throw shooting should be on one corner of his mind.

"It was real kind of reversal," said Cone, whose charges went 5-for-13 from the stripe in the fourth
period after missing just four of 10 in the entire first half. 

"In the first half, they missed 10 free throws.  We're really lucky, for in the second half they
started making and we started missing those free throws."

B-Meg also did not get to the line in third period while TNT made seven of 10 charities that helped
raze the Llamados' 48-40 halftime lead and install the Texters ahead, 67-62, going into the fourth.

Then the defending champion's sour shooting returned and not only from the stripe. In the first
seven minutes of the final canto, the Texters went 0-for-6 from the field and 2-for-6 from the
stripe, helping fuel the Llamados' surge to a 77-69 lead.

Despite their woes the Texters still managed to keep within 82-86 and got given a lease on life when
Denzel Bowles almost ruined a 25-point, 11-rebound performance with two missed charities in the
final 30 seconds.

But the Texters bade their bid goodbye by going 0-for-2 from the field and committing a turnover the
rest of the way, in the process totally stoking Reyes' frustrations. (NC)

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PBA: Sure-shot Simon leads B-MEG to game one win over TNT

The B-MEG Llamados captured game one of the PBA Commissioners Cup Finals by out-running the normally up-tempo Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters and banking on the scintillating shooting of Peter June Simon, eking out an 88-82 victory Monday at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Llamados broke the game wide open early with a 17-3 run that turned an 8-11 deficit into a 25-14 first quarter advantage, with six different B-MEG players chipping in that run, capped by a Joe Devance score off an offensive board before the buzzer.

Early offense by Raffy Reavis and JC Intal doubled TNT's output at the onset of the second period, 28-14, but the Texters slowly began to find their rhythm behind their big man Donnell Harvey, who had 11 of his 15 first-half points in the second quarter. Back-to-back conversions by the Talk 'N Text import had them within seven, 47-40, but Devance again gave B-MEG the last word, splitting charities to make it an eight-point lead headed into the break.

Out of the intermission, and after first blood was drawn by James Yap, the defending champions reeled off a 12-4 run to creep within two points, only for the Llamados' import Denzel Bowles to rock the rim with a thunderous slam.

TNT countered with a four-point play by All-Filipino Cup Finals MVP Larry Fonacier, knotting the game at 56-all. The Texters kept pouring it on, with Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams connecting from distance as well, snatching a five-point advantage with a quarter let, 67-62.

But that turned out to be TNT's brightest spot in the game as they seemed drained to start the final period. B-MEG quickly rattled off five points to tie the game, and after a Harvey split at the line, scored another seven to make it 74-68. At that point, B-MEG mentor Tim Cone began to slow down the game, countering the Talk 'N Text scores methodically.

A clutch triple by Jimmy Alapag made it 80-75, and the man known as "Mighty Mouse" canned another trey a few plays later to make it a four-point deficit, 39 seconds left.

The Texters got a golden opportunity after a fouled Bowles missed two charities with 28.5 seconds left, 86-82, but they went for the quick three, and Ranidel De Ocampo's shot did not connect. After Yap halved his free throws, 87-82 with 20.2 remaining, Marc Pingris then came up with a crucial steal, clinching the victory for B-MEG.

Peter June Simon dropped 18 points on the Texters on near-flawless 9-of-11 shooting. Denzel Bowles added a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds, while the frontline of Marc Pingris and Joe Devance had 11 markers each, plus a combined nine boards.

Rafi Reavis was a demon on the glass, finishing with a team-high 12 rebounds.

Talk and Text drew a 25-13 performance from Donnell Harvey, but the support was not there to back him up. The starting backcourt of Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes flourished with a total of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 dimes, but there was precious little beyond them.

One big problem of the Texters was there inability to convert at the free throw line. Entering the game, they shot 70.65 percent from the stripe, a top-four clip in the league. Past opening tip though, TNT missed 20 out of their 36 charities, leading head coach Chot Reyes to say in the post-game presser, "We were given free throws but we refused to accept them."

Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at the Big Dome.  - KBK, GMA News


The scores:

BMEG 88 - Bowles 25, Simon 18, Devance 11, Pingris 11, Yap 9, Barroca 4, Intal 3, Reavis 3, Urbiztondo 2, De Ocampo 2, Villanueva 0

TNT 82 - Harvey 25, Alapag 12, Reyes 10, Fonacier 8, Williams 6, Dillinger 5, Castro 5, De Ocampo 5, Carey 4, Peek 2, Gamalinda 0, Aguilar 0

Quarter scoring: 25-14, 48-40, 62-67, 88-82

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WILL-IMPOSING HUNT BEGINS

DEFENDING champion Talk 'N Text and B-Meg start their PBA Commissioner's Cup championship series
Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with each aiming to impose its will over the other.

The protagonists have their respective advantages over the other and they are expected to use those
to the hilt in not only gaining the headstart but also stamping their class in the best-of-seven
duel.

The Tropang Texters have the advantage in terms of quickness and a well-stocked arsenal while the
Llamados boast of the edge in height and heft, plus a lockdown-style of game.

And with two noted tacticians both familiar and knowledgeable with each other, expect the series to
be a long, drawn-out affair.

“It will be close and it will be about who’s able to execute at the finish,” said TNT coach
Chot Reyes. 

“If they can play up-tempo, we may not have the chance. But if we can slow them down, make the
game ugly, then we have a chance,” said B-Meg's Tim Cone.

There are some numbers that further bolster the argument the series will be too close to call. 

The Texters emerged from the eliminations through the semifinals as the second-best offensive team
with an average of 100.43 points, while the Llamados come into the series as the No. 1 team
defensively after giving up an average of only 87.06 points.

Reyes believes that none of those stats, and his import-less team's 102-96 win over B-Meg in the
elims,  matter now.

“B-Meg has the depth advantage” Reyes said. “They are also fresher as we’re playing our
fifth Finals in a row.

“They have the advantage in size and we have the advantage in speed. As always, the series will be
won by the team that imposes its game and makes quick adjustments.”

Cone also points out his team should be banged up as well since B-Meg had to go through a one-game
playoff with Ginebra for the last automatic semifinal slot and, having lost that, went through a
three-game quarterfinal wringer against Meralco.

Besides, Cone added, more games together has its positive side.

“Yes, they’ve been playing a lot of games. But I feel on my experience, the experience you
gather doing it over and over again, winning in every conceivable way, makes your confidence
extremely high,” said Cone.

“That’s their edge. But I take that we’re fresh and hungry, and we’ll see how far that takes
us.” (NC)

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