Source: PBA.PH
Tue, 11/10/2009 - 17:13 — junior
Ryan Gregorio, coach of the Purefoods TJ Giants, says his team plays better when ranged against the league’s top dogs.
So that explains the character of the Giants, who showed little respect for the erstwhile winless Coca-Cola Tigers during their match-up 11 days ago.
And they paid for it dearly. The Tigers came away with a 93-79 victory and snapped a 0-3 start in the 2009-10 KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the expense of the Giants.
“We played with fire and got burned,” declared Gregorio of that harrowing experience he referred to as a “lesson in humility.”
“Sometimes what we are trying to arrest is our tendency to take other teams for granted,” he added. He swears his troops have learned their lessons.
Gregorio proved his point Sunday when the Giants trounced defending champion Talk N’ Text, 108-102, to bounce back from that embarrassing defeat to Coca-Cola.
“We really perform well against teams we know are really strong,” the Purefoods coach emphasized.
The Giants will be aiming for their second straight win and fourth in six games Wednesday against San Miguel (4-2), another elite team that has been drawing attention of late.
After opening their campaign with two straight losses, the Beermen have strung up four consecutive wins, the latest an 88-69 blowout win over Sta. Lucia last Saturday in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
Apparently, Gregorio knows what to expect from the Beermen and he seems to have the answer slow them down.
The Purefoods-SMB match-up is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum following the 5 o’clock encounter between TnT and Coca-Cola.
Gregorio acknowledges that SMB’s size pesents a match-up problem.
“San Miguel is a tough team. They’re strong, they’re big and they’re massive underneath the basket,” he pointed out.
Hopefully, the Giants’ quickness would enable them to offset their weakness in the paint.
“We are quicker than all of their bigger guys,” Gregorio noted.
Purefoods, Gregorio said, should also execute well on offense because “SMB forces opponents to a lot of turnovers and turn them into points.”
SMB will be without the injured Dannys – Seigle and Ildefonso – while Purefoods will try to overcome the absence of Rafi Reavis and PJ Simon, both also sidelined by injures. Don Allado, who missed Sunday’s game with a flu, is expected to rejoin Purefoods’ rotation.
“It’s going to be a good match. We’re going to prepare hard and we’re going to be ready,” Gregorio said.
Meanwhile, the Tropang Texters attempt to bounce back from Sunday’s defeat when they face the Coca-Cola Tigers.
TnT (2-2) has now lost two straight games after opening the conference with back-to-back victories over winless Rain or Shine and Sta. Lucia.
Seeking their second straight win, the Tigers (1-3) are expected to have a tough time matching up with TnT but coach Chot Reyes is not counting Coca-Cola out, saying forwards Harvey Carrey (knee) and Jarred Dillinger (bruised rib) are doubtful starters because of injuries.
Coca-Cola coach Kenneth Duremdes anticipates a tough match-up against TnT but is keeping his fingers crossed that his players, specially his backcourtmen, will be able to contain TnT’s hardworking and aggressive guard trio composed of Jimmy Alapag, Jason Castro and Macmac Cardona.
With big man Ken Bono out with injury and rookie guard Chris Ross still a doubtful starter, it could be a tough and long night for the Tigers. (DBC)
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