Beermen advance to semis

CEBU, Philippines – Powerhouse San Miguel Beer left nothing to chance against struggling league newcomer Blackwater, fashioning out a lopsided 91-62 win to claim elimination-round top honors and an outright semifinal passage in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome last night.

Facing relegation to fourth place, the Beermen exerted tremendous effort to bounce back strong from a loss to the Talk n Text Tropang Texters the last time out and finish ahead of the pack with a 9-2 win-loss card.

San Miguel and Rain or Shine actually wound up with identical records but the Beermen gained higher playoff seeding on a winner-over-the-other rule.

As the elims top two placers, the Beermen and the Elasto Painters have been seeded in the Final Four, awaiting the survivors of the two-phase quarterfinal stage involving Alaska Milk, Talk n Text, Barangay Ginebra, Globalport, Meralco, Purefoods, Barako Bull and NLEX.

Reigning four-peat champ Purefoods Star capped a roller-coaster ride in the elims with a 99-83 shellacking of Barako Bull earlier in the day.

“I’m not a fan of the quotient tiebreak system. But we have to deal with this and we’ll try to win Thursday to force a knockout game,” said coach Tim Cone whose Purefoods squad settled for seventh place on an inferior quotient.

Marc Pingris top scored with 20 points while PJ Simon and Joe Devance combined for 28 markers as Purefoods sent Barako Bull to a 4-7 wind-up, same with NLEX.

The Beermen dished out a relentless, furious game, keeping the Elite winless through the end of their maiden conference in the pro league.

Coach Leo Austria and his troops played with great determination as they couldn’t afford to lose this game.

“We really wanted to get the first spot,” said Austria.

“At the start of the season, I didn’t expect to be No. 1 because of the new system I brought in, plus the injuries to our key players,” Austria also said. “But the guys embraced the system and, in no time, we’re on the same page.”

Austria is happy they’re having a nine-day breather before plunging back into action in the semifinals.

“We need so rest so our guys can recuperate from their injuries. And we also have a lot of things to work on in practice,” said Austria, believing Purefoods and Alaska will survive the cutthroat quarterfinals.

“Purefoods can’t be underestimated, they know how to win. Alaska, on the other hand, is very organized. And they mean business as they’d shown in their strong start in the tourney,” Austria pointed out.

The Beermen were all business last night, leading by as many as 31 points at 87-56 in their wire-to-wire domination of the Elite. -Philippine STAR News Service (FREEMAN)