Barangay Ginebra and Talk 'N Text both won the openers of their respective PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals series Friday night.
Yet both teams expect the worse to come.
Bracing for payback against their Final Four foes, the Kings and Tropang Texters vow to keep from letting their guard down for Sunday's Game 2's at the Araneta Coliseum.
"Our opponent is a team that's playing well," said Talk 'N Text coach Chot Reyes of Air21, which the Tropang Texters beat, 97-90. "We have to expect a tough series."
"Mabigat ang Game Two," Ginebra's Jong Uchico also remarked, even after the Kings scored a gripping 97-96 win over Pilipinas-Smart Gilas. "They'll (Gilas) definitely come out and do everything they can. We just have to work harder."
Hard work did pay off for the Kings, who trailed 82-88 in the final four minutes of play but leaned on import Nate Brumfield and Mark Caguioa's endgame heroics.
The stocky Ginebra reinforcement completed the Kings' rally with a three-point play with 18.3 seconds left that put the league's most popular ball club in front for good, 97-95.
The Nationals had a chance to tie the game in the final 5.1 seconds, but big man Marcus Douthit could only split his charities for the final tally.
"We cannot win games if we keep on missing free throws," said Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.
The Nationals finished 12-of-29 from the foul line, with Douthit, who valiantly suited up for Gilas despite nursing a fractured right hand, going 5-of-12 from the stripe. He finished with game highs of 31 points and 16 rebounds.
The Kings, supposed to be the older and slower team, also beat the Nationals in their own game, outscoring them in transition plays, 25-7.
"We are probably not experienced in the PBA playoffs, but we will try to respond," added Toroman. "We didn't play good in Game One. You can expect much better from us (in Game Two). I don't think we can play much worse than in Game One."
Like Smart Gilas, Air21 is looking to bounce back against top-seeded Talk 'N Text, which thrice led by as many as 21 points, but somehow couldn't shake off the pesky Express.
"Losing by seven points is a close game, to me," said Air21 coach Bong Ramos. "Anything can still happen. But we have to minimize our turnovers and sprint back in our transition defense. As I see it, beatable naman ang Talk 'N Text."
The Tropang Texters go into the 6:30 p.m. match-up on a nine-game winning streak that dates back to the elimination round of the import-laden tournament. - JVP, KY, GMA
