By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
JUST a win away from returning to the finals of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup, defending champions San Miguel Beermen go for the clincher when they collide with the Alaska Aces in Game Three of their best-of-five semifinal series today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Went 2-0 up in the series after repeating over the Aces in Game Two, 105-94, on Monday, the Beermen said that they would make full use of the position of advantage they are now in, beginning in their scheduled 7 p.m. joust at hand.
“With this victory (Game Two) we put Alaska in a difficult position. It’s hard going down 0-2 in a best-of-five series. But we are not counting them out yet. They have a good coaching staff led by coach Alex Compton and they will continue to fight it out. We have to continue playing hard and be ready,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria in the postgame press conference following Game Two.
In moving on the verge of another finals appearance, San Miguel used a strong second half to turn the tables on Alaska en route to the victory.
Import Renaldo Balkman led the way for the Beermen with 31 points and 10 rebounds with June Mar Fajardo, named player of the game, adding 21 points and 18 rebounds.
Guards Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot, for their part, added 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Diamon Simpson, meanwhile, paced the Aces with 19 points and 15 boards.
Simon Enciso also had 19 while Vic Manuel finished with 15 for Alaska, which continued to play sans Chris Banchero (personal emergency) and Calvin Abueva (team suspension).
“Credit Alaska for making it tough for us in the first half. We’re fortunate to have been able to come back in the second half on the strength of our defense,” said Mr. Austria of their win.
While recognizing they have an uphill battle ahead of them down 0-2, Alaska coach Compton, meanwhile, refused to give up and vowed that his team will continue fighting.
“We are not giving up. Yes we are down in the series and we are missing some key players. But we will not use those as an excuse not to play our best. As long as there are still games to be played we will continue fighting,” said Mr. Compton following Game Two.
--This article was published in "BusinessWorld"--