RP-SMB gears up for semis, rips Aces

BRUNEI — The RP-San Miguel Beer squad fashioned out an emphatic win over Alaska, 75-71, behind Tony dela Cruz’s offensive clout Thursday and will now await its opponent in the semifinals of the fifth Shell Rimula Cup at the National Indoor Stadium here.

The 6-foot-4 Dela Cruz powered the RP-San Miguel Beer to its fourth straight win, firing nine of his 17 points in the third period where the Filipinos erected their biggest lead at 55-44 and took control of the game.

RP-SMB finished its elimination round campaign with a 4-1 win-loss mark, the only setback was at the hands of Japan’s Toshiba Brave Hunters (4-0) which will meet SK Knights of Korea (3-1) on Friday that will determine the semifinal pairings.

A win by the Japanese squad will put the Nationals at the No. 2 spot and face the Koreans in the semis. Alaska, which is expected to beat the lowly Warriors All-Star also on Friday, will slide down to No. 4 and meet Toshiba.

If SK Knights, who lost a tough 97-95 decision to RP-SMB Wednesday night, wins by less than 11 points, a three-way tie will be created at the top spot among the Nationals, the Koreans and the Japanese.

In that scenario, the RP-SMB gets the top spot by virtue of higher quotient thus meeting the Aces in the semis.

"Iyan ang ayaw nating mangyari. Hopefully kung magkita ulit kami ng Alaska sa finals na," said Reyes who also drew 17 points and eight rebounds from Asi Taulava.

But if the SK Knights beats the JBL Super League champion by at least 11, the Koreans take the No. 1 seed and meet Alaska in the semis on Saturday. RP-SMB and Toshiba make up the other semifinal pairing, a scenario Reyes wants to avoid.