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PBA: Must-win for 3 teams
By: Zean Macamay, Journal Online
THE race for berths in the semi-finals and quarter-finals might be getting interesting. But so does the battle to avoid missing
the playoffs.
Three teams in danger of being the first to be eliminated see action today, even as San Miguel Beer guns for its 11th win and
enhance its chances of making the Final Four outright in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine will have the unfortunate mission of trying to stop the Beermen, while Burger King and Barako Bull square it off
in the 5 p.m. opener in a battle between energetic ball clubs.
In a tournament that has so far turned unmemorable after a franchise-best fourth-place finish in the Fiesta Conference, the
Elasto Painters are finding it hard to get into a winning roll, and may end up at the losing end once again against a
powerhouse team like San Miguel.
Rain or Shine only has three wins with six games left before the playoffs begin. Its 3-9 (win-loss) record could have been
better had the Painters kept their focus and poise against Ginebra last Saturday in a road game where the youngest
franchise lost a 12-point lead in the final six minutes and eventually bowed 101-97.
Coach Caloy Garcia knows that it would take a lot of hard work and discipline to bring down a team like San Miguel, but the
mission doesn’t necessarily mean impossible.
“We’re hoping to get an upset,” said Garcia. “We’ve been playing good but we’re not closing the games strong. We have to
play 48 minutes of great basketball to beat SMB.”
Only two teams have been able to beat the Beermen – Alaska and Ginebra. And at the way the Beermen have recovered
since their 122-116 overtime setback last Dec. 9 to the Aces, there seems to be very little chance for the Painters to pull off a
surprise.
San Miguel, the pre-tournament favorite, bounced back with an 87-80 victory over sister-team Purefoods last Sunday. The
Beermen held the Giants to an abysmal 32 percent field-goal shooting (27-of-82) in that game to offset the rebounding
advantage Purefoods had, 58-40.
A victory by San Miguel will give it a much firmer grip of solo second place behind Alaska, which appears to be headed in
clinching the first outright berth in the semi-finals with an 11-1 record. The other night, the Aces showed the kind of stuff they
were made off, fighting back from a 13-point deficit to beat Talk ‘N Text 113-109 in overtime.
So important, too, is the Beermen’s game since three teams – TNT, Ginebra and Purefoods – are close behind at 8-5 and
locked from third to fifth spots.
While San Miguel is eyeing to nail down the No. 2 spot, the cases are different for the Whoppers and the Energy Boosters.
Burger King and Barako Bull are down in the standings, and could still be the ball clubs that could be eliminated for the wild
card stage.
The Whoppers, in a season that had lots of twists and turns, have so far won only four games in 13 matches while the
Boosters have a 2-10 record.
Both Burger King and Barako Bull are fresh from defeats. The Whoppers absorbed a 1106-94 defeat to cellar-dwelling Coca-
Cola last Dec. 13 while Barako Bull greatly missed posting a shocker in a 70-66 loss to Purefoods last Dec. 9.
By: Zean Macamay, Journal Online
THE race for berths in the semi-finals and quarter-finals might be getting interesting. But so does the battle to avoid missing
the playoffs.
Three teams in danger of being the first to be eliminated see action today, even as San Miguel Beer guns for its 11th win and
enhance its chances of making the Final Four outright in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Rain or Shine will have the unfortunate mission of trying to stop the Beermen, while Burger King and Barako Bull square it off
in the 5 p.m. opener in a battle between energetic ball clubs.
In a tournament that has so far turned unmemorable after a franchise-best fourth-place finish in the Fiesta Conference, the
Elasto Painters are finding it hard to get into a winning roll, and may end up at the losing end once again against a
powerhouse team like San Miguel.
Rain or Shine only has three wins with six games left before the playoffs begin. Its 3-9 (win-loss) record could have been
better had the Painters kept their focus and poise against Ginebra last Saturday in a road game where the youngest
franchise lost a 12-point lead in the final six minutes and eventually bowed 101-97.
Coach Caloy Garcia knows that it would take a lot of hard work and discipline to bring down a team like San Miguel, but the
mission doesn’t necessarily mean impossible.
“We’re hoping to get an upset,” said Garcia. “We’ve been playing good but we’re not closing the games strong. We have to
play 48 minutes of great basketball to beat SMB.”
Only two teams have been able to beat the Beermen – Alaska and Ginebra. And at the way the Beermen have recovered
since their 122-116 overtime setback last Dec. 9 to the Aces, there seems to be very little chance for the Painters to pull off a
surprise.
San Miguel, the pre-tournament favorite, bounced back with an 87-80 victory over sister-team Purefoods last Sunday. The
Beermen held the Giants to an abysmal 32 percent field-goal shooting (27-of-82) in that game to offset the rebounding
advantage Purefoods had, 58-40.
A victory by San Miguel will give it a much firmer grip of solo second place behind Alaska, which appears to be headed in
clinching the first outright berth in the semi-finals with an 11-1 record. The other night, the Aces showed the kind of stuff they
were made off, fighting back from a 13-point deficit to beat Talk ‘N Text 113-109 in overtime.
So important, too, is the Beermen’s game since three teams – TNT, Ginebra and Purefoods – are close behind at 8-5 and
locked from third to fifth spots.
While San Miguel is eyeing to nail down the No. 2 spot, the cases are different for the Whoppers and the Energy Boosters.
Burger King and Barako Bull are down in the standings, and could still be the ball clubs that could be eliminated for the wild
card stage.
The Whoppers, in a season that had lots of twists and turns, have so far won only four games in 13 matches while the
Boosters have a 2-10 record.
Both Burger King and Barako Bull are fresh from defeats. The Whoppers absorbed a 1106-94 defeat to cellar-dwelling Coca-
Cola last Dec. 13 while Barako Bull greatly missed posting a shocker in a 70-66 loss to Purefoods last Dec. 9.