MANILA, 16 July 2007 — One team passed a test of character, the other is headed toward one of its own.
Talk ‘N Text, after blowing control early and staring defeat late in Game 5 of the PBA Fiesta Cup Finals, showed its composure and resolve last night to pound out a 107-104 victory over Alaska for a 3-2 lead and within a win of its first title in five years.
And it put Alaska on the brink for the first time in the tournament, a challenge coach Tim Cone said would test his wards in Game 6. “This is a true test of character for us,” Talk ‘N Text coach Derrick Pumaren later said. “We showed a lot of poise out there, especially when we trailed late in the game. This was a true victory for our team.”
Jay Washington woke up from a tournament-long slumber and delivered in the clutch, hitting five straight points in the game’s most crucial point before helping seal the victory with a great outlet that will help define his young career in the future.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore power forward was in his elements, and Pumaren rewarded him by keeping him in the game until the end. Quite not like the way things have been for Washington in the series.
“This series has been tough for me. I know I’ve struggled in the first (four) games,” Washington, a 25-year-old who traces his roots in Zambales, told Arab News. “I am grateful to coach (Pumaren) for having faith in me.
“I guess I was just too tight in the early games,” he added.
Washington finished with 15 points, nine of them coming in the fourth period when the Phone Pals were severely tested. He had a string of five straight points coming just after the Aces had taken a 97-93 lead before a brilliant inbounds after a Mike Cortez basket on the other end fed Harvey Carey for the insurance layup with three seconds to go.
That Cortez triple shoved the Aces to within 104-105, and Washington actually admitted to having failed to remember calling a time out. And it was a super pass that will leave an indelible mark in the Talk ‘N Text campaign here if the Phone Pals do go all the way.
Game 6, the first KO game which Alaska will face in the tournament, is scheduled Wednesday night also at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, and Aces coach Tim Cone, though looking gloomy after the loss, welcomed the challenge.
“This will be the first test of our character here,” Cone, winner of 11 titles and a rare Grand Slam in 1996, said. “This will be the first time for our team to play in a game which could end our season.
“I told the boys of that fact in the locker and they seem eager to get it on,” he said. “This is by far the worst game we played in the series because we couldn’t do the things we needed to do right.”
JJ Sullinger was also big and Mac Cardona was steady, helping the Phone Pals in different stages of the contest before finishing with 24 points and 20, respectively.
Rosell Ellis led the Aces with 28 and Cortez finished with 18. But the big letdown for Alaska was the six-point performance of newly-crowned MVP Willie Miller.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, behind another masterful performance from Jimmy Alapag, humbled Lebanon , 87-81, for the 4-Nation Invitational title earlier.
Alapag finished with 23 points and Caguioa had 13 of his 19 in the fourth period to lead the Nationals, who won the second title in their preparation for the FICBAAsia championship scheduled in Tokushima , Japan in two weeks. Syria posted its first win in the tournament, a 90-85 nipping of China for third place.
