Not all basketball games are created equal. Some games are worth more than others just because there’s more at stake. PBA teams routinely sleepwalk through elimination games especially late in the season when playoff seedings are all but wrapped up. But everybody comes to play for a win-or-go-home game, and moreso when a title is on the line.
And Game Seven of the 2011 PBA Governor’s Cup title series was worth way more than any other PBA game in recent memory.
Consider the stakes. The teams were contesting the fate of Talk ‘N Text’s bid for the mythical Grand Slam, a feat done just four times before in PBA history. The difference between a historic Grand Slam and a two-titles-and-a-runnerup-finish was worlds apart, and a Talk ‘N Text loss would have turned one of the great campaigns in league history into the most bitter of disappointments.
It was also the rematch of the 2010-2011 Philippine Cup finals where Talk ‘N Text emerged with their first title that season. It would have meant the difference between a 2-0 sweep for the Texters in title series against Petron Blaze, or a 1-1 draw for the two teams that best qualify as a legitimate rivalry in today’s PBA.
Throw in the way Talk ‘N Text was rumored to have chosen to play Petron in the finals by tanking in their last game of the round-robin semis, and the
near-fistcuffs between the two coaches early in the title series and you have a game that no player would have trouble getting pumped for.
A regular PBA title, not to undercut its value, isn’t exactly the most rare of feats. When you consider that there are three of them up for grabs every single year, it kind of waters down the accomplishment just the teeniest bit.
But a game with this much at stake – this doesn’t come around too often.
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And the Petron Blaze Boosters showed up for it.
Arwind Santos, fresh off losing the Most Valuable award to Jimmy Alapag, turned in an MVP-type performance. Anthony Grundy proved himself the better import over Scottie Reynolds and Mo Baker. Alex Cabagnot methodically picked the Talk ‘N Text defense apart with his playmaking.
And in the end, the Boosters took home the crown.
This was the win of the year because it was the basketball equivalent of Frodo destroying the One Ring in the fires of Mordor. Talk ‘N Text had dominated the season, won two titles and came within one game of clinching their third and becoming part of PBA history. In the end, what people will remember will be how they failed to win the Grand Slam. In one game, Petron virtually undid everything that Talk ‘N Text worked all season for.
This was the win of the year because it was the most important PBA game in years, and despite having the odds stacked against them, the Petron Blaze Boosters got the job done.
And won.
source by Mikkel Bolante, InterAKTV · Monday, Image by InterAKTV/Markku Seguerra
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