Matt Ganuelas-Rosser is an integral part of Talk ‘N Text’s offensive system, and it showed for the Tropang Texters throughout their contest against San Miguel Beer.
In one play, Ganuelas-Rosser used a quick first step to beat Arizona Reid off the dribble from the right wing, and finished with a left-handed reverse lay-up after attacking strong.
In another one, he displayed a strong command on the hoop once again, taking off from the outside, and using his athleticism and vertical leap to power a shot past the arms of Arwind Santos for a lay-in.
It was the trend on Wednesday night as the Tropang Texters waylaid the Beermen, 113-93. Talk ‘N Text actually jumped out of the gates and held a 26-9 bubble in the first seven minutes of the match, but allowed San Miguel to get back as the Beermen used an 18-2 blast.
Transition defense went poor for the Tropang Texters, which allowed the Beermen to get easy baskets off fastbreak attempts. San Miguel actually finished the match ahead in fastbreak points, 15-8. It became a back and forth affair until the end of the first half, where Talk ‘N Text clung on to an eight-point lead, 56-48.
The complexion of what was a tightly-contested match changed in the third quarter, when the Tropang Texters outscored the Beermen 32-14 with repeated attacks to the basket and more energy.
“It happens naman. There will be a lull, but what is important is we were able to find other ways to score,” Head Coach Jong Uichico said, referring to the second quarter where the team stopped attacking for a while. “[The aggressiveness] is what we wanted them to do. Play with more energy. It is good we got the same effort from the players like what they did last Saturday [against Purefoods], although we lost.”
The combination of good ball movement and penetration helped open up options for Talk ‘N Text. Ganuelas-Rosser, Ranidel de Ocampo, and Ivan Johnson finished with high-percentage baskets around the rim*. Furthermore, when the San Miguel defense collapsed, Talk ‘N Text would just send it back outside having a plethora of three-point shooters.
*Talk ‘N Text outscored San Miguel 56-40 in points in the paint
It worked wonders as Talk ‘N Text shot 52 percent overall, and hit 10-for-20 from three-point distance. San Miguel in contrast was a lowly 38 percent overall, and 28 percent from long range.
“That’s just my role in this team, try to get to the basket, draw some fouls, suck the defense in and make it easier for our shooters,” Ganuelas-Rosser shared. “It’s just one of those days where I got it going. It all depends on the matchups, and it could go off for me.”
Ganuelas-Rosser finished with a career-high 22 points and added four rebounds, two assists, and three blocks, getting it done on both ends of the floor.
“My role is just to be aggressive and get to the rim, and our game plan is just perfect.”
At 7-3, the Tropang Texters have a chance to secure the top spot in heading into the quarterfinals of the Commissioner’s Cup, and it is mainly due to sticking with their well-oiled system.
