January 22, 2019

Texters, Road Warriors eye first win

One side finally gets into the win-column while another takes further slide as TNT KaTropa and NLEX slug it out in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

Both are off to a struggling season start with the Texters dropping their first two games against the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters, and the Road Warriors yielding against the NorthPort Batang Pier and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.

But the Texters and the Road Warriors hope to hit their stride soon.

TNT barely lost an overtime battle against Phoenix, 84-93. Alas, the Texters will now be more depleted minus center Mike Miranda, who drew a game suspension plus a fine of P30,000 for a cheap shot on Justin Chua in the dying seconds of their match on Saturday in Antipolo.

The outcome of the game was beyond recall when Miranda hit Chua with a closed fist to the body without provocation.

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"Nanipa na dati yan. So sabi ko sa kanya kapag umulit pa siya uli, hindi na kami maguusap, automatic double ang sanction niya," said PBA commissioner Willie Marcial.

Minus Miranda, left to man the middle for coach Mark Dickel are Kelly Williams and Yousef Taha.

The Texters, however, could still have enough firepower from their wing and guard rotations led by Jason Castro, RR Pogoy, Brian Heruela, Ryan Reyes and Don Trollano.

They will be up against the NLEX side hoping to get better soon.

"We're disappointed with our 0-2 start, but I'm not losing hope," said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao. "We're bound to get better. We're trying to stay positive at this point."

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From their games from the previous season, the Road Warriors' main concern is how to close out a game.

They are off to a losing start even on their acquisition of Poy Erram and the return of Kevin Alas. (SB)