MANILA, Philippines – The PBA Philippine Cup Final Four is fast turning out to be a pair of matches made in heaven as could be seen from two cliffhangers last Wednesday.
Alex Cabagnot scored on an awkward drive in the dying seconds, lifting the Beermen to a pulsating 86-84 victory and breaking the hearts of a throng of Ginebra fans in the opener of their series at the Araneta Coliseum the other night.
James Yap, on the other hand, made a crucial steal, also at endgame, as the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados pulled off an 88-87 squeaker over the Talk n Text side to even their own series at one game apiece.
With the four teams expected to have settled down after a long respite, the same finish could be in the offing tonight as the Beermen go for a 2-0 lead over the Gin Kings at 5 p.m. and the Texters and the Llamados break their tie in the 7:30 p.m. main game before another expected sellout crowd at the Big Dome.
“The long break obviously took its toll on all four teams. We took a while to get a good rhythm. Having shaken off the holiday rust, I expect a higher level of battle Friday (today),” said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin.
The battle could only get fiercer as the protagonists press their respective championship bids.
“Ginebra is such a tough team to put away. We led by 14 but they’re right back in the game in the last two minutes. Good thing, Alex was there to save us,” said San Miguel ace forward Jay Washington.
“I hope that we can close it out in five or six games but it’s going to be very tough every game. It’s going to be a stressful series,” Washington added.
San Miguel is now 3-0 against Ginebra dating back to the elims. All three games, however, boiled down to the final possession with the Beermen barely pulling through with a one-point win in each occasion.
“It’s so hard to beat them,” said Washington.
In the other match, the short-handed Llamados hope to ride the momentum of their big win even as the Texters seek redemption.
Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes, whose wards scored a 98-91 victory last Dec. 26, rued their Game Two loss where they threw away two chances to win in the closing seconds.
“If we can’t manage to call a timeout or get a decent shot with 10 seconds left and five top-caliber players on the floor, then we don’t deserve to win,” Reyes posted on his twitter account.
An ailing James Yap bailed his team out with a steal in the closing seconds.
The two-time MVP awardee is hoping to get better so he can contribute more to his team in Game Three.