After loss, Chot Reyes calls out ‘vacationing’ Alapag, De Ocampo

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

After a tough loss to the B-MEG Llamados in Game Three of the Commissioner’s Cup finals, Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes vented his ire on two reliables who have been largely absent from the best-of-seven series: Jimmy Alapag and Ranidel De Ocampo.

“We’re not going to beat them unless Ranidel de Ocampo and Jimmy Alapag are back from a vacation,” said Reyes shortly after the Tropang Texters’ 91-87 loss which gave the Llamados a 2-1 series lead.

“[Josh] Urbiztondo has been abusing Alapag and [Marc] Pingris was beating De Ocampo. There’s too much load on Ryan [Reyes], Kelly [Williams] and [Donell] Harvey. We’ve been completely outplayed by our B-MEG counterparts, that’s the difference.”

Reyes warned that Tropang Texters, the reigning Commissioner’s Cup champions, could lose their crown if the two men don’t play up to par.

“It’s over if Jimmy and Ranidel don’t come around. We can’t beat B-MEG without our complete roster.”

Alapag scored just six points on 2-of-13 field goal shooting, while De Ocampo scored a measly point, with both of his missed field goal attempts coming from behind the arc.

But the two men weren’t the only players who were out of sync for Talk ‘N Text in Game Three. Jayson Castro, the Tropang Texters’ hero in the previous game, struggled mightily against the ferocious B-MEG defense. Already nursing various injuries, Castro finished with 11 points on a miserable 3-of-19 shooting from the field.

“B-MEG did a great job shutting down Castro, but we didn’t play well at all. We didn’t shoot 40% from the field, we even had less assists, so how can we make our shots?” said Reyes.

Talk ‘N Text shot less than 35 percent from the field and had just eight assists, 10 fewer compared to B-MEG.

Another key cog, Jared Dillinger, was held scoreless.

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