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 SMB coach Siot Tanquingcen described it best: We came back from almost dead.
And with a new lease on life, San Miguel Beer looks dangerous indeed.
The Beermen have been the story of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup playoffs, coming all the way from the wild-card phase and from 21 points down in the deciding game of their quarterfinal series to make the Final Four.
Wednesday night, with everyone starting from scratch, it’s hard not to give San Miguel a second look, with the Beermen as sharp as they could be going into Game 1 of their semifinal series against Talk ‘N Text at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
“Now that we are here (semifinals), we would play to the best of our abilities,” Tanquingcen also said Sunday night, still teary-eyed after disposing of crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
It would be quite interesting to note that the Beermen will come into the 7:30 p.m. game after taking the longest route to here, while the Tropang Texters will be a well-rested bunch, just like Alaska in the first game.
Dondon Hontiveros, who was nothing short of spectacular in the quarterfinals, is again expected to lead San Miguel with help to come from a slew of stars led by Danny Seigle, Dorian Peña, Lordy Tugade and Jay Washington.
San Miguel will likely miss starting quarterback Olsen Racela, who will serve out a one-game suspension after being thrown out against the Kings with a Flagrant Foul 2 against Jay-Jay Helterbrand.
And that would give rookie Bonbon Custodio even more playing time as he swings from the two spot to the point.
The Aces topped the elimination round and earned a semifinal bye like the No. 2 Texters, and to come into such a huge setting as this one with signs of rust would be a test that must be passed by both teams.
Alaska battles defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty in a separate best-of-seven series starting at 5 p.m., with Alaska coach Tim Cone optimistic that they will be able to come out sharp after taking just two days off during the holidays.
“The boys are eager to play. We’ve prepared really hard. We just took Christmas and New Year’s Day off but other than that, we have been working out,” Cone told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). “But being in game shape is different from being in good practice shape.”
“I believe we can bring some sharpness into our game despite the long layoff,” he added.
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