From courtside

How far must a team go to win? How far could a team go to make it to the semis?

Talk n’ Text did not only have to win against Red Bull. Because the Barakos were favored by the quotient system, the Phone Pals had to win by a convincing margin of eight points or more. And this was the tall order that resulted to the strange ending of what could have been just any other qualifying game in the country’s professional league.

Nobody had a hint of what was to materialize in the dying seconds of the game. At the start, everyone was focused on the other big story of that PBA Wednesday: Asi Taulava’s performance. The Rock, who serves as the battery of TnT, only managed a disappointing 11-point game against FedEx. And since this came after the Senate inquiry on the Fil-sham issue

yielded summary deportation for him and four others, people started speculating that he was, indeed, affected.

Taulava refused to give an interview at the start of the game. It was interim coach Ariel Vanguardia who took the blame. According to him, it was his fault that Taulava didn’t score well against the Express. He said he didn’t give Taulava too many touches. Do we believe this? Vanguardia was quick to add, however, that they came prepared for Red Bull. "We are anticipating that Red Bull will play the same defense and we are ready for that," he explained with confidence.

The Enrico Villanueva-Asi Taulava match-up heated up early. I reported that before the game, while we were getting ready to interview Villanueva for the halftime feature, Taulava passed by and started getting playfully rough with the rookie. But Villanueva was firm. "Not here. Do that inside the court," he said to Asi. Sure enough, the Rock unceasingly challenged the defense of Red Bull. And he really tried hard despite fans chanting, "Asi, Asi, import pala!" He remained focused.

Everything was still normal by then.

It was during the third quarter when the Phone Pals started piling up the points against Barako. Coach Yeng Guiao was mad. He talked to his players in Tagalog to make his instructions clearer. "Mamamatay tayo. ‘Wag niyong pilitin. Ipasa niyo ang bola." He then turned to Mick Pennisi, another Fil-Am in question, and said in English: "I want more pressure on Asi."

At the start of the fourth, TnT was still up, but Red Bull was able to trim the lead down. Barker Rolly Manlapaz, as instructed by a PBA official, announced the obvious: TnT had to win by eight points or more. And this was when the Phone Pals camp started reacting. Assistant coach Virgil Villavicencio asked, "Why is he announcing that? Is he an analyst?"

At this point, everyone in the stands became more aware of how weird the quotient system can be. And the players felt more pressured to deliver the magic 8.

Before the final quarter was played to the end, Barako’s Villanueva and Pennisi fouled out. Up until then, TnT was hanging on to the lead, although nowhere near the 8-point mark. NBN anchor, Paolo Trillo, analyzed the situation by saying that should the Phone Pals be unable to stack up the 8-point lead in regulation, they could go for overtime and hope to steal the game from the then incomplete line-up of Red Bull. It was an option.

Final timeout of the game, I went over to Guiao’s huddle and listened in, to see if they knew what the Phone Pals were up to. They did. "We don’t want an overtime," he stressed to his boys. Meanwhile, Vanguardia and the rest of TnT were deep in huddle, mapping out their strategy: to keep fouling and give Red Bull some free throws. But the Barakos were smarter. They snubbed the charities, intentionally missing the mark.

Again, Trillo anticipated the possible move: the Phone Pals might just get desperate and shoot in the opponent’s goal! Analyst Norman Black, who was covering the game with Trillo, vehemently dismissed the idea, "I hope not. They shouldn’t."

As it turns out, Talk n’ Text was thinking of doing exactly that. They didn’t only want to win the game, they wanted to prevail in a bigger battle, entry to the semis. Red Bull didn’t want to shoot their ball; the Phone Pals had to do something.

Coach Joel Banal, who is busy with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, have not gone to any of the games in the Samsung-Invitational. However, there was word at the start of this particular game that he was going to drop by. TnT fans were hoping that Banal would once again bring his fabled magic and luck to the Cuneta Astrodome where the Phone Pals just recently won the All-Filipino crown.

He failed to show up. He had just gotten back from a two-day trip to Los Angeles to look for an import. He, however, caught the action on screen. "As a spectator, I thought it was the best thing to do. We wanted to make it to the semis and that was our best option. We have that responsibility to our company though we are also aware of our responsibility to the league and to the crowd," he said in an interview a few days after.

What is the team’s common responsibility to its company, the league and the crowd? In closing, Black said it perfectly: "They should always remember to win or lose with dignity."

Amidst the commotion and mixed emotions, the PBA has proven once again that it remains to be the highest form of sports entertainment in this side of town. It has action, drama, comedy, and more. The scenarios are as nerve-wracking as the popular television series. It has as many twists as there are in suspense/thriller movies, and endings as bizarre as science fiction.

You may reach this writer at www.jannelleso.com or through text, key in <JANNELLE> send to 2978.