E-Painters have been completely thrown off their game

After Game 1 of the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup Finals, where the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters survived a furious rally from the Rain or Shine Elastopainters to eke out an 87-81 victory, the thousands of self-proclaimed Philippine basketball “experts” seemed to be in agreement that RoS would make some adjustments, come back strong in Game 2, and tie the series up.

ALSO READ: Some Game 1 Observations

Game 2 came and went, and for those of us who were watching, it seemed eerily similar to the first game. Sure, RoS competed at a higher level, did not allow themselves to trail as much as they did in Game 1, but at the end, the Painters had scored only 81 points again, against TNT’s 89, faltering on both ends in a crucial fourth quarter stretch, where Ranidel De Ocampo, among others, repeatedly delivered for TNT, and, very quickly, that was it. The series was 2-0 for TNT.

I am sure many fans watching on TV were just as curious as I was to study the body language, the facial expressions, the gestures, and most especially, the words, that would come out of RoS Coach Yeng Guiao’s mouth as this series progressed. In-game, the camera would repeatedly focus on Coach Yeng and, while he most of the time just stood with his arms folded, his eyes piercing the scene of his team struggling, he would occasionally holler, point, and demonstrate to his players how he wanted them to perform. He addressed the referees at times, but clearly, his blasts of frustration and his constant pleas for action and reaction, were directed straight at his team. He shook his head time and again, wondering what was going wrong. He may have been impressed with TNT, but that was not his concern.

A 3-0 lead in this series seemed unimaginable before it began, but after TNT handled ROS again in Game 3, riding again on timely hits, this time from the duo with water-bug speed, Jimmy Alapag and Jayson Castro, in yet another crucial fourth quarter barrage, suddenly, legitimate talk of a sweep emerged. Coach Yeng expressed his dislike for how the game was officiated, pointing out at least three plays where he thinks the referees erred, and which could have turned the tide in ROS’ favor. Again, the final score was in the eighties, 89-80, and the script, alleged bad calls (or non-calls) notwithstanding, was all too familiar.

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After Game 1, Coach Yeng was optimistic. He said that even if they played well below par, they still had a chance to win it, and they would bounce back. By halftime of Game 3, despite his team’s lead, he was castigating his players for not sticking to their game plan. In the video shown on TV early in the third quarter, Coach Yeng asked his team why they were not following the game plan. He said, “Bakit ayaw ‘nyo sumunod sa game plan? Napaka-simple nung game plan…” (Why don’t you want to follow the game plan? The game plan is very simple.) Coach Yeng continued, “Naubos na ang boses ko, yung gusto nyo pa rin ginagawa ‘nyo.” (I’m already losing my voice, but you still keep doing what YOU want to do.)

Coach Yeng, hoping to earn his first Philippine Cup title, ended by saying, “We’re just making bad decisions, guys.”

In the series, where has the consistent ROS shooting, which constantly destroyed opponents all conference long, been? Where has the intimidation, the body-bumping, the hard fouls that prevented three-point plays and easy buckets gone? Studio Analyst Jojo Lastimosa, who knows a little something about championship games, at halftime of Game 3, was asking where the expected physicality of ROS was. He said he was disappointed at not having seen much of it yet after two and a half games of the series.

ALSO READ: We're not shooting with confidence. - Guiao

I am actually really surprised that TNT has won all three games so far, and not because I doubt the talent and greatness of the Tropang Texters. I even call them the TNT All-Stars at times. I can’t agree with those who say that TNT has handily won each game. Even the Texters themselves will say they’ve been given quite a fight so far. RoS has been in it in the fourth quarter of every game. They’ve just faltered in the last few minutes, while TNT has flourished on both ends of the court. There have been three games, with three different Best Players from TNT, and a case, perhaps, for some others to have been named as such.

A sweep is just in front of the Tropang Texters. A third straight Philippine Cup championship is just slightly beyond their reach, but they can smell it, and probably even already taste it. Coach Yeng, when asked if his team can possibly make history as the first to come back from a 0-3 deficit, replied, “History? ‘Di nga kami maka-isa, history pa.” (History? We can’t even win a game, more so make history.) Some feel he practically conceded the series to TNT when he said that his team would just “try to delay [TNT’s] celebration.”

Will the balloons and confetti fall for TNT, or will RoS live to fight another day? Game 4 is tomorrow, 16 January 2012, 6:45pm at the Araneta Coliseum.

You can follow Charlie on Twitter @Charlie C.

Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.