B-Meg seeks 2-0 vs 'foul' shooting TnT

MANILA, Philippines - B-Meg’s swashbuckling win in Game One should give the Llamados the confidence and morale boost to go for 2-0 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals. But coach Tim Cone remains wary of Talk n Text making a comeback in “every conceivable way.”

The Llamados shoot for their second straight win in the best-of-seven series at 6:45 tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum but they would need a solid game against a team that, for once, acted like a gang which couldn’t shoot straight from the free throw line.

“You can’t win a game if you miss 20 free throws. If we made 50 percent of what we’d missed, we could have won,” said TnT coach Chot Reyes.

“You have to make it. That’s why it’s called gift shot. We were given the gifts but we refused to accept them,” he added.

The Texters missed 20 of 36 charities. It’s the most number of free throws missed in a game by Talk n Text in its five straight finals.

But Cone cautioned his wards following their 88-82 victory last Monday and stressed the need to work extra hard to score a repeat.

“They have won in every conceivable way,” noted Cone, referring to TnT’s record in the finals.

In the previous four finals, Talk n Text lost the series opener just once. The Texters dropped Game One of the 2011 Governors Cup finals and eventually lost the series in an upset by an injury-depleted Petron Blaze squad.

But TnT has had its great comeback tales.

“I’ve always felt the loser in the first game of a series has the advantage going to the next game. They make the adjustments and we have to make quick reactions. It’s tough doing that,” said Cone.

“As I’ve said in the Ginebra (semifinal) series, it takes special effort to win back-to-back games. We have to dig deeper,” Cone added.

Dragging Talk n Text into slow-paced half-court game in the series opener, B-Meg pulled off an inspiring win to set off its pursuit of a first crown in two years.

“We saw in this game that we really have a good chance to win it,” said Peter June Simon, the Makilala, North Cotabato pride who played a key role in the series’ opener.

Reyes also said Game One proved the Llamados were the hungrier team.

“I have to give it to them. They showed their hunger. They wanted it more,” Reyes said.

The Texters waged a fightback from 14 points down in Game One but fell short of their bid as the Llamados made crucial stops and key offensive execution in the stretch.

“Freshness and hunger go hand-in-hand for B-Meg in the end,” said Reyes.