KG Canaleta exceeds expectations, hopes to keep on firing

MANILA, Philippines – All that was expected of KG Canaleta in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) quarterfinals was for him to track down some rebounds.  

He was not expected to pile up on points. 

Still he has proven to be a scoring threat, leading the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters with his 25 points on 6-of-11 3-point shooting to help his team of just two and a half conferences march on to the semifinals of the 2014 PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup.  

“Actually rebounds lang ine-expect sa akin ni coach eh,” said Canaleta of the assignment head coach Norman Black asked of him.  

“Hindi niya sinabi yung points eh. Dumating lang talaga.” 

(Actually my coach expected only rebounds from me. He didn’t say anything about points. It just came to me.) 

The 32-year old Canaleta found his hands on fire right away, scattering his three-pointers throughout the game. 

But perhaps the worst damage he inflicted came with 4:21 left to play as he swished in back-to-back long range bombs that made up 6 of an 8-0 swing, paving the way for the Texters to notch a daunting 95-79 advantage on their way to getting the W. 

Black commended the 6-foot-6 swingman whom the Texters acquired from Air21 in exchange for rookie Eloy Poligrates and journeyman Sean Anthony in a trade just before the quarterfinals of the 2014 Philippine Cup.  

“I always tell KG that when he played for Air21 he was a Talk ‘N Text killer because he always played great against us and that’s the reason we traded for him,” Black said lightly after their win over the Express. “And he did it for us against another team.” 

It was the first real breakout game for the sweet shooter and 5-time slam dunk champion. 

To him, his breakout game came at just the right time as the Texters headed into the semis for a rematch of last conference’s finals with San Mig Super Coffee. 

“Medyo matagal na ako hindi nakakapag-contribute sa kanila eh so hinihintay din nila yun. Tsaka para sana come next round mataas yung kumpiyansa namin. Sa depensa lang nag-start eh. Hindi ko naman inexpect na ma-shoot talaga.” 

(I haven’t truly contributed to the team in a while so they were waiting for it as well. Also because come the next round, our confidence is high. It all started on defense for me. I never expected for my shots to fall.) 

However, his team fell through in overtime and surrendered Game 1 of the semis to the Mixers. 

Canaleta’s performance dipped right away and he swished in only one triple for his 3 points and added 4 rebounds.  

Despite that, the Texters still see this semis rematch as a pristine opportunity to redeem themselves from that tough Commissioner’s Cup finals defeat, which gave the Mixers their third straight title since the 2013 Governors’ Cup.  

“After ng finals, paglabas namin sa locker room sa Philsports, hindi namin kaagad nakalimutan yun. Pero tapos na yun eh. Ito ngayon binibigyan ulit kami ng pagkakataon pero dapat di namin pakawalan.”

(After the finals, when we came out of the locker room at Philsports Arena, we didn’t forget about the loss right away. But it was done. Now we have a chance again and we mustn’t waste it.)

It’s a different role now for Canaleta at Talk ‘N Text compared to his time with the Express. He is no longer expected to lead the offense.  

During the 2012-2013 season, Canaleta averaged 16.7 points for Air21, per pba-online.net. And at the time of his trade, Canaleta normed 16.5 points, 6.36 rebounds, and 1.36 assists per game.  

For Talk ‘N Text so far this conference, he has averaged 7 points, also per pba-online.net. 

“Hindi ko naman hinahanap yung parang dati kasi marami rin inaasahan dito. Chip in lang ako,” Canaleta explained how he has adjusted to his role with Talk ‘N Text. 

(I’m not looking to play like I did before because there are plenty of go-to guys here in the team. I just chip in.)

He added that the Texters is a team built on teamwork and sharing the ball, much like the newly minted 2014 NBA champions the San Antonio Spurs. 

“Hindi pwedeng isang player lang ang maganda ang game. Kailangan lahat. Parang Spurs.” (We can’t have just one of us playing a good game. It has to be all of us. Just like the Spurs.) – Rappler.com