Surgin' Energy eye 3rd in row

MANILA, Philippines - Barako Bull goes for a third straight win and a share of second place as it tangles with sister team Shopinas.com even as reigning titlist Talk n Text tries to spring back from a loss against B-Meg in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome tonight.

Having beaten two formidable teams in the Ginebra Kings and the TnT Tropang Texters, the Energy set out the heavy favorites against the Clickers in their 5:15 p.m. encounter.

The Energy matched up well with the Kings and the Texters, and should do the same against the Clickers with a combination of seasoned veterans and talented youngsters.

Barako coach Junel Baculi, however, believes the Clickers, being young and energetic, can well give his team an acid test.

Two-time MVP winner Willie Miller said their challenge is how to cope up with the Clickers’ running game and pressing defense.

“We’re facing a young team. Hopefully, we can sustain the momentum of our back-to-back wins,” said Baculi.

The Energy have shown remarkable improvement with their souped-up lineup, scoring the team’s first win in their last 13 outings with an 88-75 lashing of the Kings last week.

On Wednesday, Barako checked a 14-game slump in its head-to-head battles with Talk n Text with a 100-86 victory.

The Texters, meanwhile, hope to bounce back from that setback as they take on the Llamados in the other game at 7:30 p.m.

“We were exposed as a team versus Barako – exposed that we will have difficulty versus teams of superior size and heft. We face the same situation versus B-Meg,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

The Texters will have to contend with coach Tim Cone’s tall and talented lineup featuring Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris, Rico Maierhofer and Rafi Reavis in the front court and James Yap, PJ Simon and Roger Yap at the backcourt.

Kelly Williams returns to action for TnT although Ranidel de Ocampo remains out of the team.

Despite its talent-laden cast, the Llamados, however, are off to a struggling start, losing two of their first three games.

Evidently, the Llamados have yet to adopt Cone’s scheme of things, in particular the triangle offense.