MANILA, Philippines -- The injury-riddled Talk N Text Tropang Texters are thankful that they are getting a long lay-off before starting their semi-finals series against the Petron Blaze Boosters.
The defending PBA Philippine Cup champions, the Texters finished second after the elimination round and gained a twice-to-beat advantage. They needed only one game to dispatch of seventh seed Barako Bull, 81-79, and advance to the semi-finals.
"It was important for us to win this, because we needed the long rest," TNT head coach Chot Reyes told PBA.ph after that game.
Talk N Text hobbled through much of the 14-game elimination round, as they saw key players go down due to injury.
Last season's most valuable player Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, Jarred Dillinger, Ryan Reyes, and big men Ranidel de Ocampo, Aaron Aban and Ali Peek all sat out significant portions of their regular season campaign because of various injuries.
Thus, Reyes was thankful that his team got a 21-day lay-off, which will give his injured players enough time to heal.
"It was the driving motivation for us to get that long rest. Fortunately, we got it," he said.
Reyes revealed that the injured Texters "are undergoing aggressive treatment." "At the same time, we're balancing rest and recovery with practice and keeping in shape through this break," he added.
The Texters will be going against Petron, the team that derailed their Grand Slam aspirations during last season's Governors Cup.
TNT won both games during the elimination round, but Reyes remains wary of the Boosters, who swept the Meralco Bolts in their best-of-3 quarterfinals series.
"We're hoping everyone's ready by January 5," he said.
The semi-finals series between the Texters and the Boosters begin January 5 at the Cuneta Astrodome.
source by abs-cbnNEWS.com
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