Player of the Week December 21 to 27
TALK ‘N Text is on a mission and Macmac Cardona is only too willing to take the point.
Cardona earned the KFC/Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors anew for the period Dec. 21 to 27 and all because of a big role in a much-needed win before the league's Yuletide break.
The man who was cited by the scribes first in the period Oct. 19-25 (with Alaska's Reynel Hugnatan) and again on Nov. 23-29 was simply unstoppable in a 117-112 victory over Sta. Lucia Realty last Wednesday.
In that game, Cardona went 12-for-21 from the field and also had four rebounds and five assists as the Tropang Texters improved their win-loss slate to 10-5 for third-running spot behind 11-2 Alaska and 12-3 San Miguel Beer.
It was the third at least-30-point game by Cardona in their last four games and fifth overall this conference and he said it was borne of the entire team's desire to finish the 18-game eliminations in the upper tiers.
“Second round na kasi kaya pini-pick up ko ang game para sa goal naming (Tropang Texters) lahat,” said Cardona, who is right on track to matching his seven POTW citations during the 2006-07 season, four of them in the 2007 Fiesta Conference.
“Hindi na namin kasi kontrolado ang numbers that will give us an automatic semifinal seat (reserved for the top two after the elims), pero we know na we need to win every game,” he added.
The accolade, he hastens to point out, is not entirely his alone..
“Kasama ang mga teammates ko dito. Tinutulungan din nila ako sa mga pasa nila, set ng plays para sa akin,” stated the league's scoring leader. “Kundi dahil sa kanila, baka mahirapan akong umiskor.”
That should bode ill for TNT's opponents, who should also be concerned with the likes of Jimmy Alapag, Jason Castro, Harvey Carey and Ali Peek each time they face the Tropang Texters.
Cardona said whatever works for the team is just fine with him.
“Sa stage na ito, every game matters. Kaya kung ano ang magagawa ng buong team, gagawin, maabot lang ang goal namin,” he said. (NC)