FOLLOWING its come-from-behind 89-80 win on Sunday, Talk ‘N Text is now one win away from a Philippine Cup three-peat.
And history is on Talk ‘N Text’s side.
All 12 previous PBA teams which took 3-0 leads in a best-of-seven series, 10 of them in the Finals, went on to win the series.
Not even one of those 12 was ever extended to a Game Seven and only one was extended to a Game Six – Gordon’s Gin, against Alaska in the 1997 Commissioner’s Cup.
From thosse 12 teams which took 3-0 leads in a best-of-seven series, five of them went on to score a sweep and six won it after five games.
The last team to score a 4-0 sweep was Purefoods in the 2009-10 Philippine Cup Finals against Alaska.
In this very same conference Finals last season against Powerade, the Tropang Texters also won the first three games of the series then clinched it in Game Five.
“I don’t really like to talk about sweeps because they’re normally impossible but considering we’re up 3-0, we’ll just go for the championship on Wednesday,” said Talk ‘N Text head coach Norman Black about the possibility of bringing out the broom in Game Four.
Can Rain or Shine become the first team ever to in the PBA or NBA to win a best-of-seven after losing the first three games? Even head coach Yeng Guiao doesn’t think it can be done.
“Isang panalo nga lang hindi naming makuha, history pa?” he said, when asked if they have what it takes to accomplish the near-impossible feat.
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Even in the NBA’s 67-year history, no team has ever come back from a 0-3 hole to win a best-of-seven series.
In US major professional sports history, only thrice has a team down 0-3 battled back to win a best-of-seven series, two of them happening in the National Hockey League and one in Major League Baseball.
- 2004 Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees in the American League championship series
- 1975 NHL quarterfinals New York Islanders vs. Pittsburgh
- 1942 NHL Finals Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Wings
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