Games Wednesday (Astrodome, Pasay City)
5:00 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs Barako Bull
7:30 p.m. — Sta. Lucia vs Talk ’N Text

Defending champion Talk ’N Text will have to double its effort when it plays Sta. Lucia Realty in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup this Wednesday at the Astrodome in Pasay City as some of its key players are nursing injuries.

The Tropang Texters and the Realtors clash at 7:30 p.m. with the former going for a crucial win that will keep their bid for an outright semis berth alive.

Despite their perceived manpower advantage, TNT coach Chot Reyes has some worries since Jimmy Alapag is still bothered by a pulled hamstring injury while Jared Dillinger (tendonitis) and Harvey Carey (shoulder) are not yet in full stride.

Despite his condition, Alapag still finished with 17 points in their game against the Giants. Dillinger has missed two games while Carey has been bothered by his injury.

“Sta. Lucia is playing as well as any team in the league right now. We will be hard-pressed to stay with them considering our injuries,” Reyes said.

The Texters defeated the Realtors in their first round meeting (100-83) last October 25, but the latter are still fresh from a 93-88 win over Ginebra that improved their record to 7-5.

TNT is coming off a 101-98 win over Purefoods last Saturday in the PBA on Tour presented by Phoenix Fuel that improved its record to 9-5, just two and-a-half games behind San Miguel Beer, which has a 12-3 card.

Alaska still leads the conference with an 11-2 record.

The top two teams after the classification phase will earn outright Final Four berths, while the third to fifth teams will advance to the quarterfinals automatically.

The sixth to ninth teams will play in the knockout wildcard, with the last placer will be the first team to be eliminated.

Rain or Shine and Barako Bull – two teams trying to avoid early elimination in the season-opening tournament – clash at 5 p.m.

With a 3-10 record, the Elasto Painters must beat the Energy Boosters (2-11) to boost their bid in the knockout wildcard.

Barako Bull downed Rain or Shine in their initial face-off this all-Filipino conference, 89-81, last October 28.