TnT, Alaska stake clean cards today

MANILA, Philippines - Pre-season favorites Alaska Milk and Talk n Text put their unbeaten slates on the block as they go up against dangerous opponents in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome today.

The Aces tackle the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 5 p.m. while the Tropang Texters tangle with the Meralco Bolts B-Boys at 7:30 p.m. – exciting matches that could well fire up action in the season-opening tourney.

For one, Talk n Text and Meralco, sister teams under the Manny V. Pangilinan group of companies, are expected to figure in a slambang showdown, not unlike the fierce competition seen in every San Miguel Beer-Barangay Ginebra faceoff.

“Talk n Text is playing well. They are in sync with their offensive rhythm. We must be able to defend them the best way we can,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio, noting Jimmy Alapag, Harvey Carey and Jarred Dillinger as the TnT players they must contain.

“We’re anticipating a defensive struggle. Meralco will try to keep the score low and use their height advantage over us so we need to be patient and not get frustrated,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

Talk n Text and Alaska lead the pack with identical 2-0 win-loss slates while Meralco and Rain or Shine are bunched with Barangay Ginebra, Barako Bull, Powerade and San Miguel Beer at 1-1.

Meralco, a league newcomer which has formed a highly competitive lineup led by former TnT stars Macmac Cardona and Asi Taulava, was upset by Barako, 68-74, the last time out.

“We are moving forward after losing to Barako. It is important for us to address our weaknesses in order to compete against the superpowers in the league. Free throw shooting is something we must improve on,” said Gregorio.

“We are still working on our execution. I still see a lot of dead time in our execution because of unfamiliarity with one another. Learning to play together is one of our goals against Talk n Text,” Gregorio added.

Impressive in their initial games were the Texters, emerging victorious over tough rivals the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados and the Beermen.

The Alaska Aces kept pace with the Texters by beating the Energy Boosters and the Llamados.

“We’re taking steps to progress but it’s hard to judge us at this point. We played an undermanned B-MEG team and a team (Barako Bull) not expected to figure well in the standings,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

The Aces pulled one Wednesday night against the team that swept them in the last all-Filipino finals, sustaining a surge dating back to their Fiesta Conference title run.

The Aces humbled the Llamados in a duel of champions, carving out a 92-87 win.

“We really took advantage of the situation. They would be very tough once their injured big men come in,” said Cone..