RICHARD Howell is looking to complete his unfinished business with Talk `N Text in the coming PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The 6-foot-8 import is back for a second stint with the telecommunication franchise, which he hopes to steer all the way to the championship of the mid-season tournament after coming up short last season.
“Just losing in the Finals (has motivated me),” said Howell, the stinging loss to San Mig Coffee in last year’s best-of-five title series still lingering in his mind.
With Howell providing defensive presence inside, Talk `N Text won 13 straight games during last season’s Commissioner’s Cup, but failed to sustain the streak and eventually bowed to the Mixers in the finals.
The former North Carolina State standout averaged 19.2 points and 18.6 rebounds during his stint with the Tropang Texters and was named Best Import.
“I’m happy that I’m here and I’m excited to play. So now, I just wanna be a physical presence, similar to what I did last year,” he said.
Howell arrived last weekend, but was still feeling the effects of jet lag as he finished with just five points in Talk ‘N Text’s 98-87 loss to Purefoods on Tuesday in their tune-up match at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center inside the Ateneo campus.
Although Tropang Texters will no longer have recently retired playmaker Jimmy Alapag, Howell is confident they still got the right pieces to win another championship.
“I feel we have a pretty good shot with coach Jong’s (Uichico) system and in the type of players we have. So we just gotta go to practice and work hard,” he added.
Howell is coming off a stint with the Juvecaserta Basket in Italy where he averaged 9.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals.
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