TNT, B-MEG break 2-2; Ginebra Kings seek equalizer vs Beermen
By Nelson Beltran, The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra hopes to ride the momentum of their Sunday rout of San Miguel Beer while Talk n Text and B-Meg Derby Ace go for the crucial win in a virtual best-of-three in the Final Four of the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum tonight.

The Gin Kings and the Llamados pulled off convincing victories over the Beermen and the Tropang Texters, respectively, last Sunday that somehow changed the complexion of the two series.

Although the Gin Kings still trail the Beermen, 1-2, the crowd favorites hope to sustain their romp after their 95-78 rout in Game Four and send the series back to where it started last week.

San Miguel Beer takes a second shot at the pivotal third win versus Barangay Ginebra at 5 p.m. while B-MEG Derby Ace and Talk n Text break their 2-2 standoff at 7:30 p.m.

SMB coach Ato Agustin hopes the Sunday rout would serve as a reminder on the kind of rival they face in Ginebra.

“Maybe, it’s better that we feel the pressure so that we realize semifinals is a big deal specially when you’re up against Ginebra,” said SMB coach Ato Agustin. “We’re so relaxed. We didn’t match their energy.”

Agustin said they can’t afford to lose again in their 5 p.m. encounter with Ginebra, a team that gets tougher when the chips are down.

“As it is, they’re tough to play. We beat them in our first four meetings in the conference but those were close games,” said Agustin.

Ginebra coach Jong Uichico remains confident they can get going again and draw even at 2-2.

“We’ve realized what we need to do, and hopefully we can do the same Wednesday (today). It’s still a tough climb but at least we’re still here to do the climbing,” said Uichico.

The Kings spread the floor and ran their patterns well as they stopped San Miguel’s charge and avoided to fall into a 0-3 hole.

“They surprised us with their adjustments. They ran good pick-and-roll plays. We’ve made our own adjustments and we’ll see in Game Four,” said Agustin.

The other semis series set at 7:30 p.m. is down to a best-of-three affair, and the protagonists are likely to go hard against each other.

“In a best-of-three, Game One is always the key,” said Derby Ace coach Jorge Gallent, whose Llamados surprised the fancied Texters with 98-93 victory, also last Sunday.

“It’s now a best-of-three series and it boils down to who can execute (their plays),” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Chito Salud yesterday vouched for the integrity of game officials working the semifinal series.

“All the games so far this season have been won on merits and our referees have been and will continue to be a non-factor in deciding the outcome of the games,” Salud said.

As proof to it, Salud announced the removal of three game officials from the 12-man pool that was formed to work in the playoffs.

He clarified the three officials are not the same officials who officiated Game 4 of the Derby Ace-TnT series Sunday.

Salud said the primary purpose of assembling the 12-man pool assigned to work the playoffs is “to ensure that only the most proficient will be officiating until the championship series.”

The league commissioner identified the sacked officials as Dennis Barbacena, Ronald Mauricio and Ariel Bermeo. Only Bermeo worked Game 4 between B-Meg and TnT.

January 5, 2011 (Araneta Coliseum)
5:00 p.m. B-Meg Derby Ace vs. Talk ‘N Text
7:30 p.m. San Miguel Beer vs. Barangay Ginebra

ITUTURING ni coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes na ngayon pa lamang mag-uumpisa ang best-of-seven semifinals series ng PBA Philippine Cup sa pagitan ng kanyang Talk ‘N Text at defending champion B-Meg Derby Ace bagamat napanalunan na nila ang Game One.

Iyan ang mindset ng Tropang Texters papasok sa Game Two kontra Llamados sa ganap na 5 p.m. sa Araneta Coliseum sa Quezon City.

Sa ikalawang laro sa ganap na 7:30 p.m. ay magsasagupa ang sister teams San Miguel Beer at Barangay Ginebra sa Game One ng kanilang semifinals series.

“We really want to start the new year right. In fact, we’re not counting Game One anymore. We consider Game Two as the start of the series. We want to come out strong,”ani Reyes. “It’s 2011. We put behind us whatever happened in 2010. Our thinking is that we’re starting from scratch and we’ll try to establish momentum.”

Napanalunan ng Talk ‘N Text ang Game One, 98-91, noong Disyembre 26 sa kabayanihan ni Jimmy Alapag na nakakumpleto ng four-point play sa foul ni Jonas Villanueva sa huling dalawang minuto. Si Alapag ay nagtapos nangmay 20 puntos.

Nabalewala ang 36-point performance ng reigning Most Valuable Player na si James Yap na umaasang manunumbalik ang tikas ni Peter June Simon na nalimita sa 14 puntos sa Game One.

Inaasahan din ni B-Meg Derby Ace coach George Gallent na makakabalik sa active duty ang starting point guard na si Roger Yap na hindi nakapaglaro sa Game One bunga ng injury.

Bukod kay Alapag, si Reyes ay umaasa rin kina Harvey Carey, Ali Peek, Kelly Williams at Ranidel de Ocampo.

Samantala, bahagyang pinapaboran ang San Miguel Beer laban sa Barangay Ginebra dahil sa dalawang beses na naungusan ng Beermen ang Gin Kings sa elimination round. Unang nanaig ang Beermen, 69-68, noong Oktubre 17. Nakaulit sila, 79-78 noong Nobyembre 21

Target ng San Miguel na muling mamamyagpag sa Philippine Cup. Huling nagwagi ang Beermen sa conference na ito noong 2001 nang talunin ng Beermen sa Finals ang Gin Kings, 4-2.

Nakarating ang Gin Kings sa Finals nang magwagi sila kontra Alaska Milk sa rubbermatch ng kanilang best-of-three quarterfinals series noong Araw ng Pasko.

Ang San Miguel, na ngayo’y hawak ng rookie coach na si Renato Agustin, ay sumasandig kina Arwind Santos, Jay Washington, Dondon Hontiveros, Danny Seigle at Danilo Ildefonso.

SMB, TNT seek easy route to semis
source: Barry Pascua, Bandera

ENJOYING a twice-to-beat advantage, Talk ‘N Text and San Miguel Beer will try to take the quick route to the best-of-seven semifinals when they meet separate foes in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 PBA Philippine Cup today at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Tropang Texters clash with Rain Or Shine at 4 p.m. while the Beermen tackle Air21 in the 6:30 p.m. mainer.

Talk ‘N Text and San Miguel Beer wound up with identical 11-3 records at the end of the elimination round and thus earned the bonus of having to win just once in order to reach the semis. On the other hand, Air21 finished seventh with a 6-8 card while Rain Or Shine had a 5-9 record and both will have to hurdle two sudden-death matches to advance to the next phase.

The Beermen have mastered the Express in the elims winning, 100-86, last Oct. 8 and repeating, 96-89, last Nov. 26.

San Miguel Beer is led by Anthony Washington, Arwind Santos, Dondon Hontiveros and Danny Seigle who all average in double figures in scoring. Additional firepower will be provided by Sunday Salvacion who was acquired from Barako Bull in exchange for Lordy Tugade and rookie Vaughn Canta.

Air21 is paced by prolific scorer Ronjay Buenafe but coach Joseller “Yeng” Guiao is also banking on prized rookies Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao. Al-Hussaini had scored 31 points in their second meeting with the Beermen.

Talk ‘N Text and Rain Or Shine split their matches in the elims. The Elasto Painters drew first blood, 95-93, on a game-winning basket by Solomon Mercado last Oct. 20. The Tropang Texters exacted vengeance, 86-81, in their out-of-town meeting in Digos, Davao del Norte last Dec. 4.

Gametime: 5:00 P.M.
San Miguel -7.5 vs Powerade +7.5 Totals(186.5)

Gametime: 4:00 P.M.
Meralco vs Barako +6.5 (182.5)

Gametime: 6:30 P.M.
San Miguel vs Talk N Text +1.5 (194.5)

Gametime: 5:00 P.M.
Alaska vs Barako Bull +7.5 (180.5)

Gametime: 7:30 P.M.
Air21 +6.5 vs San Miguel (190.5)

Gametime: 7:00 PM
San Miguel -4.5 vs Alaska +4.5 Totals(188.5)

Gametime: 7:00 PM Philippine Time / GMT +8

San Miguel -4.5 vs Alaska +4.5 Totals(185.5)

Gametime: 7:00 PM
Alaska +6.0 vs San Miguel -6.0 Totals(188.5)

Gametime: 5:00 PM
Derby Ace +2.5 vs Talk N Text -2.5 Totals(183.5)

Gametime: 7:30 PM
Alaska +4.5 vs San Miguel -4.5 Totals(188.5)

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