Epic Final Four duels loom: Beermen, Gin Kings face off; TnT eyes 2-0

MANILA, Philippines –  The Final Four protagonists shake off the holiday stupor in a pair of expected epic matches marking the resumption of the PBA Philippine Cup with Talk n Text battling B-MEG Derby Ace and San Miguel Beer colliding with Barangay Ginebra at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The Texters beat the Llamados, 98-91, in Game One of their showdown but TnT coach Chot Reyes said they’re practically starting all over again because of the nine-day break.

The resumption of play will be marked by the unveiling of the “Big Cube” at the Big Dome.

The Big Cube is a giant four-screen high definition LED Cube the Araneta Coliseum management has procured from Florida. It’s said to be the biggest in the world and, at 10mm pitch, clearer than the one being used in the Dallas Cowboys football stadium.

Action on the floor could only be fierce and furious with the Texters, the Llamados, the Beermen and the Kings all out to crank up their playoff runs.

“We really want to start the New Year right. In fact, we’re not counting Game One anymore. We consider Game Two at the start of the series. We want to come out strong,” said Reyes.

“It’s 2011. We put behind us whatever happened in 2010. Our thinking is that we’re starting from scratch and we’ll try to establish momentum,” Reyes added.

The Llamados have also put behind them their Game One loss and they’re aching to plunge back into action.

“We had a chance to win in the end (in Game One). It showed we can beat Talk n Text,” said Derby Ace coach Jorge Gallent.

“We just have to play our game, play our roles and stop their key player. We do that and we have a good chance to win,” added Gallent, optimistic of their chance against the elimination-round topnotchers.

The opener of the San Miguel-Ginebra series could really be a battle as indicated by their two down-to-the-wire elimination-round meetings won by the Beermen via one-point victories.

“I think we can really compete with them,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico, notwithstanding injuries to key players Eric Menk and Jayjay Helterbrand.

Providing subplots to both series are the duel between neophyte coaches versus veteran bench tacticians.

Uichico and Reyes have won 13 championships between them while Gallent and Ato Agustin are both seeking a Cinderella finish.

Reyes and his troops are out to put pressure on Derby Ace, looking for a 2-0 lead in the series they are favored to win as playoff top seeds.

“They’ve been saying we’re the favorites but I’ve been long enough in this league to know predictions do not count. Anything can happen on the floor,” said Reyes.

The Texters hardly took a rest during the break in preparation for today’s game.

They’re determined to stay sharp, come out strong and reestablish momentum that could bring them back to the all-Filipino finals. The Texters are out to reclaim the crown they last won in 2009.