Boosters face listless Texters

MANILA, Philippines - Petron Blaze expects to fuel its blazing start against Talk n Text as coach Chot Reyes admits his chargers are not yet in competitive form as action in the PBA Governors Cup resumes at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

“We’re not ready at all,” said Reyes, bracing for another tough outing with most of his core players still to recover from injuries and the team, as a whole, still recouping from their grueling grind in the recent tourney.

The Boosters are riding the momentum of back-to-back wins while the Texters are reeling from two straight losses as they clash at 7:30 p.m.

Rain or Shine, like Petron, goes for a third successive victory as it tangles with Air21 at 5:15 p.m.

“We’re far from being in competitive shape. Added the fact that we’re up versus the best team with the best import, all we can hope for is to keep the game close and have a chance in the end,” Reyes said.

Talk n Text lost its first game versus Meralco while missing the services of Kelly Williams, Jimmy Alapag, Ryan Reyes, Jason Castro, Harvey Carey and Ali Peek.

Castro, Carey and Peek were still out as the Texters suffered a second straight defeat at the hands of the Air21 Express.

Petron, on the other hand, is off to a swashbuckling start in the season-ending tourney, boosted by the return of Jay Washington, Chris Lutz and Dorian Peña.

The Boosters were impressive in their 97-83 winning debut versus the Powerade Tigers and in their 101-88 follow-up win over the Bolts.

The defending champs could even get better on the reactivation of Dondon Hontiveros and the addition of Marcio Lassiter soon. The two are still nursing injuries.

Making good use of their retooled lineup, the Boosters had little difficulty getting past the Tigers and the Bolts.

“The tournament features a ‘carry-over’ format, and so every game counts. We have to win as many games we can,” said Petron coach Ato Agustin.

Meanwhile, Powerade, after a 0-2 start, decided to dump Rashad McCants for Omar Shriff Sneed.

Sneed is an elite product of University of Memphis with an experience of playing international ball in Belgium, the Netherlands and Venezuela.

The Texas native suited up with the Houston Rockets in the 2001 Rocky Mountain Summer League after finishing his collegiate career as Memphis’ 29th all-time leading scorer with 1,072 points though playing only two seasons.

He started in 56 of 57 games he played with the Memphis Tigers.

As a senior, he averaged 16.7 points and 7.5 rebounds, ranking among C-USA’s top five in scoring (fourth), rebounding (fifth), and field goal percentage (third).

He scored 20 or more points in 10 games and recorded six double-doubles.

NOTES: Alaska Milk acquired the services of former Smart Gilas player RJ Jazul from Air21 in exchange for Eric Salamat plus a future draft pick….. Barako Bull relegated Wynne Arboleda to the unrestricted free agent pool. Air21 can acquire Arboleda if no other team expresses interest on the veteran playmaker. Barako and Air21 are sister teams under the Lina Group of Companies and, under league rules, can’t engage with one another in any deal directly.