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 As if going through the wild card phase and quarterfinals series – and barely surviving – were not enough, San Miguel is now bracing itself for an even bigger storm when the KFC Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals formally kicks off Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen take on the talented and well-rested Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the main game set at 7:30 p.m. Game 1 of their best-of-seven semis showdown marks the first time in three years two of the league’s powerhouse squads will be crossing paths.
San Miguel beat Talk ‘N Text in the finals of the 2005 Fiesta Conference – the last time both teams squared off deep into the playoffs.
“They (Tropang Texters) are loaded in every position," said SMB coach Siot Tanquingcen, whose Beermen needed to get past Coca-Cola in the wild card phase and got dragged into a winner-take-all match by sister-team Barangay Ginebra Kings in the quarterfinals to reach the final-four phase of the season-opening meet.
“It would come down to which team plays good defense and which team plays smart on defense."
Talk ‘N Text last had a competitive outing on Christmas Day last year, thanks to a buzzer-beating shot by newly-acquired player Ranidel De Ocampo, 109-108, to earn an outright semis spot.
But the Tropang Texters have not taken a break the past holiday season, flying to Singapore to play exhibition games against the Singapore Slingers in a move to stay sharp.
Indeed, they would need all the sharpness they can get against the Beermen, who now have gone 3-1 (win-loss) since going 2-7 in the second round of the eliminations.
Lack of manpower however, may take its toll on San Miguel.
Already without Mike Cortez, the Beermen will miss Olsen Racela for tonight’s game. Racela has been suspended for committing a flagrant foul penalty 2 against Jay-Jay Helterbrand last Sunday for sticking out his left foot while the Ginebra guard was on his way down after attempting a three-point shot.
Defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty also begins its semifinals showdown against top seed Alaska. The two ball clubs square off in the 5:00 p.m. opener. It would be a rematch of last season’s Philippine Cup semis series where the Realtors won in seven grueling games.
The Realtors, on the other hand, will be aiming to repeat over the Aces. They are also nearing a goal no team has done for the past 23 years, being the first to repeat as Philippine Cup champions since Great Taste won it in 1984-85.
Alaska has had a break for more than two weeks. It last played on December 21 against Purefoods and won, 76-74.
Coach Tim Cone, though, doesn’t feel his boys are rusty at all. “We’ve been off for a long time, so the guys are really eager to play," said Cone. “We’ve prepared hard so we’ll find out how well that preparation translates on the court."
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