Cobra, Cossack seek entry into Final Four

MANILA, Philippines - Sister teams Cobra Energy Drink and Cossack Blue try to complete the semis cast today when they battle separate rivals at the close of the elimination round of the 2010 PBL PG Flex Erase Placenta Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Cobra Ironmen collide with the already eliminated Fern-C at 2 p.m. while the Cossack Spirits tangle with the dangerous AddMix at 4 p.m.

Both Cobra and Cossack are tied for third and fourth places with similar 4-2 cards but they still need to beat their opponents to formalize their entry in the Final Four of this season-opening tournament.

A Cobra win coupled with a Cossack Blue loss will enable the Ironmen to gain the No. 2 spot and a twice-to-beat advantage over Excelroof because of the winner-over-the-other rule. The Ironmen beat the 25ers during their lone elimination round encounter.

But if both teams prevail, then Excelroof takes the No. 2 spot, Cossack takes third spot while Cobra slips to fourth, and a clash with top-seeded Pharex B-Complex in the Final Four.

However, if Cobra and Cossack lose, a three-way tie will occur with Ascof Lagundi joining them. If that happens, Ascof and Cossack will join Pharex B Complex and Excelroof in the semis.

A Cobra win, though, will automatically eliminate Ascof from contention even if Cossack loses due to the winner-over-the-other-rule. But a defeat plus a Spirits victory will push the Ironmen out of the semis picture.

Last Saturday, Cobra wasted a double-digit deficit but held on to beat Ani-FCA in overtime, 87-85, while Cossack suffered its second straight loss when it bowed to Excelroof, 89-82, on the same day.

Ironmen coach Lawrence Chongson admitted that his team hasn’t reached its peak yet.

“We’re still not the Ironmen that everyone expects. Wala pa kami sa peak namin but we hope come the semis makuha namin yung consistency kung aabot kami dun,” said Chongson.

Manpower-wise, the Ironmen appear to have the clear advantage with the presence of UAAP sensation Paul Lee of University of the East, former Ateneo star Jai Reyes, ex-UAAP scoring champion Patrick Cabahug and Pari Llagas.

But they can’t take Fern-C for granted since the Ferntastics are determined to close out their campaign with a bang.

Fern-C has only one win to show in six games but it can take pride of its maiden performance since four of its defeats were decided in the last three minutes.

Expected to lead Fern-C are reigning NCAA MVP John Wilson, Anthony Espiritu and Allan Evangelista.

The same thing can be said of the AddMix Transformers.

Though they have only two wins in six games, the Transformers of coach Leo Austria are capable of matching the firepower of the Cossack Spirits.