By Jason Webb

The Game 1s of both quarterfinal affairs were the apt start to both series. Nothing too fancy but exciting nonetheless.  It set up what eventually turned out to be two classic series.  

With wins by Talk ‘N Text and Purefoods in Game 1, it was important for both Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine to come out with aggressiveness in the second game of their respective series to avoid the difficult task of bouncing back from a 0-2 disadvantage.

That same aggressiveness, that was integral for both teams’ success, turned out to be their recipe for disaster.  Both Talk ‘N Text and Purefoods took advantage of their opponents eagerness to steal victory in the dying seconds of both games.

In the opening act of Game 2, the Phone Pals used Barangay Ginebra’s aggressiveness on defense to catch the Kings on a backdoor and silence the crowd favorites’ faithful.

For the encore, the Elasto Painters eagerness proved costly when Eddie Laure was caught in James Yap’s fake with six-tenths of a second on the clock.

Both games led to a dominant 2-0 advantage for both Talk ‘N Text and Purefoods.

After Game 2, it seemed impossible for both Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine to come back.

It wasn’t just because they were down 0-2 in a race-to-3 series. It also wasn’t because only two teams have ever come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-5 series.  It was because they both played their best basketball in Game 2 and they still came up on the losing end.  It was because their faces and reactions after the loss said it all.  It was because they looked like their jaws had to be scraped off the ground and their hearts had to be puzzled back together.  It was because they were not only down 0-2 on the scoreboard but they also seemed emotionally destroyed.

To have a chance to push it to a winner-take-all fifth game, both Rain or Shine and Barangay Ginebra needed a break.

Rain or Shine caught the first break.  In Game 3, Purefoods decided to rest key players Kerby Raymundo and rookie Rico Maierhofer who were struggling with various injuries.  It was enough for the Elasto Painters to “rebound” in the third game and ride that same energy to a Game 4 victory to push the series into a tie.

What seemed like a cake walk for Purefoods has turned into a dog fight.  Rain or Shine, the underdog, now comes into Game 5 with momentum and confidence while big dog  Purefoods is left to look for answers on how to stop the surging Elasto Painters.  

The series is now for anyone to take with the underdog playing carefree and the big dog dealing with pressure.

The Barangay GGinebra-Talk ‘N Text series was touted as a war and that is exactly what it has become.

After walking away in disgust after their bitter loss in Game 2, Barangay Ginebra got its own break in the Game 4 of their series by seeing a disgusted Talk ‘N Text team walkout from their game after only 11 minutes into the game.

The incident was precipitated with what Talk 'N Text head coach Chot Reyes saw as a continued one-sidedness of calls.  He noted how his opponents were able to find shelter at the free-throw line thanks to the exorbitant amount of calls whistled on his team.  And his team could no longer hold their emotion after a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 was assessed on Ranidel de Ocampo.  The team decided to walkout of the game and never returned, handing a series-tying victory to the Kings.

A walkout is usually an emotional decision.  It is a decision of anger, not of composure.  A walkout is never pretty and is always costly.  This walkout will not only hurt in the pocket but might sting where it really hurts, a championship opportunity.

A walkout is a decision of the heart and not of the mind.   Or is it?

Barangay Ginebra head coach Jong Uichico said he would take any win whichever shape or form.  He also said that coach Chot and Talk 'N Text could only be playing mind games with the referees.  Was the walkout intended to unnerve the refs come Game 5?  Are these all really just mind games?

Coaching is actually all about mind games.  Coach Chot made sure that his statements on poor officiating were heard loud and clear, planting a seed in the minds of the refs on Sunday while coach Jong statements’ made sure that he too has laid the groundwork for fair officiating in Game 5.

Sadly, with all the talk about officiating, the spotlight on Sunday’s game will shift focus from two of the more entertaining teams to three boring guys with whistles.  While it is true that referees can somewhat affect the result of games, in the end, it is still the players and coaches that construct victories.

The Talk ‘N Text-Barangay Ginebra series has given us all the emotional energy we could ask for.  The series has given us beautiful basketball.

And in Game 5 of this series, the team that manages to continue to play “basketball” while managing to control their emotions will be the team that will advance into the semifinal wars.