EVEN in the absence of a legitimate big man, Fil-American Jay Washington still considers Talk `N Text a force to reckon in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The 6-foot-7 Washington acknowledged the Tropang Texters’ have four athletic and energetic power forwards who can alternate and fill in the void at the center spot.
“We take our turns playing center,” said Washington, who led the team’s blazing offense to whip sister team NLEX, 103-81, on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“The good thing about our team is we’re all pretty much the same size at the four (position), so sometimes, it’s Kelly Williams’ turn (to play center) in (the) first quarter, or Robbie’s (Reyes) turn, or Del (De Ocampo) being our four-man.
“We’re pretty much all athletic so we can hound the fives (centers) if they are bigger or just make it hard for them.”
Washington scored 19 points, spiked by five triples in a strong bounce-back game just five days after going scoreless in his debut game for Talk ‘N Text.
The Tropang Texters dropped an embarrassing 101-81 loss to the Barangay Ginebra Kings on opening day before more than 52,000 cheering fans at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Although outrebounded for the second straight game (42-39), Talk N Text made up for its lack of size through good ball movement that led to 22 assists and 12 three-point conversions.
“With our offense, I’m looked at more as a shooter, just to be able to spread the floor with the other guys, try to be more selective of my shots and at the same time, when I can attack or post up, I’ll take advantage of that,” explained the 33-year-old Washington, who made his ‘second coming’ to Talk ‘N Text after being traded by Globalport during the offseason.
Washington was the top overall pick in the 2005 Rookie Draft by Air21, but was immediately shipped by the Express to Talk `N Text.
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