Mendoza: TNT is champ but Powerade also fit for valor

Monday, January 30, 2012

TALK ‘N TEXT deserves to win because, well, that was expected.

It had all the reasons, if not artillery, to capture the crown.

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Its 4-1 triumph over Powerade--achieved only last Sunday via a title-clinching 110-101 victory--typified TNT’s overwhelming edge.

The disparity in advantages has been so obvious that to say TNT could still lose would be like saying Novak Djokovic would bow anytime to Cecil Mamiit.

There is no point comparing TNT’s howitzers with Powerade’s mortars.

TNT was the top seed because, well, its lineup is a coach’s dream.

TNT has in its stable not only the reigning Most Valuable Player Jimmy Alapag but also a slew of dependable, if not Hall of Fame-bound, troops.

Texter Ryan Reyes is not only maybe the best defensive player today in the PBA but he also happens to be a dead shot from afar.

Before Sunday’s Game 5, Reyes was the league’s No. 1 thief.

By the end of Sunday’s Game 5, Reyes was holding the new record of 10 steals recorded in a single Finals game.

Add to that his production of 20 points, the highest for the game, followed by Ranidel de Ocampo with 18 and Alapag, 17.

The Blur, Jayson Castro, tossed in 14 and, yes, Ali Peek had 13 despite having to contend with an assassin’s bullet still lodged in his neck.

And who would not salute Lucky Larry Fonacier, whose consistent play for TNT eventually earned him the coveted Finals MVP?

“It took 27 years to duplicate the last back-to-back victory in an All-Filipino series,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes, referring to Great Taste’s repeat performance in 1985 as All-Pinoy champion.

But what should augur well in the TNT victory is that Chot Reyes and his Texters are again poised to aim for the elusive Grand Slam, which was last won in 1996 by Alaska.

The Texters almost did it last year, winning the first two conferences only to be beaten in the Third Conference Finals by Petron.

But amid all the din of TNT’s triumph, Powerade shouldn’t sulk and instead walk with heads up high.

For Powerade to have reached this far with only half of its lineup skilled for arm-to-arm combat, they are worthy of decoration for valor.

(alsol47@yahoo.com)