Red Bull-SMB rivalry looms large

Another chapter in the smouldering rivalry between San Miguel Beer and Red Bull may well unfold in the next few days, unless Coca-Cola and Alaska Milk sustain the momentum of their runs and gatecrash the party.

That’s the prognosis in the Selecta PBA All-Filipino Cup Final Four, a pair of best-of-three semifinal playoffs, which unwraps today at the Philsports Arena.

The Thunder and the Aces take the floor first at 5:30 p.m., then the Beermen and the Tigers clash at 7:30 p.m.

Both Coca-Cola coach Chot Reyes and Alaska coach Tim Cone consider their teams the clear underdog, saying they’re sure not invited to the party.

Reyes even likened his team to a minor squad simply over-achieving to join giant teams in this Final Four. Cone, meanwhile, pointed to Red Bull as an outstanding favorite but didn’t rule out an upset.

The Alaska American mentor went to the extent of giving the Thunder a stern warning for wishing to have his Aces as semifinal rivals. "Be careful of what you wish for," he said earlier.

Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao clarified he’d never said he preferred to play Alaska than Talk N Text. Nonetheless, Guiao said: "I don’t blame him if he wants to fire up his team. Tim Cone is always generous with his compliments and he always criticizes himself probably in an effort to ease pressure on his team."

But Guiao doesn’t think nothing has changed in the race to the finals.

"Sa amin dalawang bagay lang. We are coming off a 10-day rest, so either we have prepared well for the series or we’ve lost the intensity and the momentum of our run 10 days ago. We’re well-prepared o nawala na sa track," said Guiao, who hates a long rest.

Outside the fact that they dominated the eliminations, one thing going for Red Bull is the return of ace pointguard Jimwell Torion from the injured list.

Torion will certainly make Red Bull more versatile and deeper on its backcourt rotation with Guiao having the option to slide Willie Miller back to off-guard spot where he is at his best.

"Red Bull is a tough combination to play. They have Davonn Harp who is a force in the middle and they have physical guards who are so active on the floor," said Cone of the Thunder.

Reyes, meanwhile, said they will simply grind it out and see what happens versus San Miguel.

"San Miguel is a tremendous squad, a talented team with so much experience," said Reyes of the reigning champions.

Coca-Cola is a team walking wounded now minus Chris Bolado and Estong Ballesteros and with Rafi Reavies practically playing with just one hand, having a fractured right hand.