‘Conclave of elite' clash for PBA reign

Games tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5:15 p.m. – Talk n Text vs Alaska

7:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs San Mig Coffee

MANILA, Philippines – The PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinals begin tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, a conclave of four elite squads all raring gut it out during the holidays with an end goal of celebrating the new year with a precious crown.

Three titleholders in Talk n Text, San Mig Coffee and Rain or Shine and worthy challenger Alaska are featured in a Final Four that promises cutthroat competition to determine who make the Last Dance in this season-opening all-Filipino tourney.

On one side, Talk n Text pursues its drive for a third straight Philippine Cup crown versus an Alaska Milk squad aching to gain winning identity with its young, promising roster.

On the other side is a playoff rematch between Commissioner’s Cup champion San Mig Coffee and Governors Cup ruler Rain or Shine.

RoS is out to prove its conquest of B-Meg (now San Mig Coffee) in the last conference was for real while the latter is out for vengeance, redemption and respect, being a champion team itself that last hoisted a crown at the end of the last Commissioner’s Cup.

This Final Four couldn’t get any better than this with each protagonist bracing for a long, tough grind.

With its powerhouse cast of tried and tested players, Talk n Text, however, won’t be denied the tag as the favorite versus Alaska.

“I am pretty humble but am also confident we can match up with any team,” said Talk n Text coach Norman Black after booking the first slot in the semis last Wednesday.

The league’s most dominant team in the last two years, the Tropang Texters kept their winnings ways, topping the elimination round with a 12-2 win-loss mark. Alaska came in fifth at 8-6.

Alaska coach Luigi Trillo admits they’re facing an uphill battle that they must play their A game always to have a chance at pulling the rug from under the Texters.

“Talk n Text is a solid, character team. They’re well coached. If there is one team that is consistently good and works hard, it’s Talk n Text,” said Trillo.

“We can’t bring our B game and expect an upset. They really attack the mismatch and try to tire out keys guys from the opposing team by posting them up and make them go through multiple screens,” Trillo added.

Meanwhile, four months after their title clash last conference, Rain or Shine and San Mig Coffee meet in another playoff showdown with all the trimmings of a classic duel.

The Mixers and the Elasto Painters, the second and third best teams in the elimination round, start their semis confrontation at 7:30 p.m., proceeding the 5:15 tiff between the Texters and the Aces.

“I expect a long series, and it’s going to be physical and emotional for both teams,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

“It should be a great series,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.

Rain or Shine narrowly escaped with an 80-79 win in their first meeting in the elims last Oct. 24 then San Mig evened up also with a hairline of a win, 93-92, on Dec. 2.

Making their semis duel showdown more exciting is both teams playing with a complete, healthy lineup. They have great individual matchups both on backcourt and frontcourt.

“As opposed to our championship series last conference, we feel we match up better this time around,” said Cone.

“Paul Lee’s and Chris Tiu’s additions have certainly made RoS a deeper, tougher team, but having Joe (Devance), JC (Intal) and Wes (Gonzales) available for us this time around helps even things out,” Cone added.

It’s the combo of James Yap, PJ Simon and Mark Barroca versus Lee, Tiu, Ryan Arana, Jeff Chan and Gabe Norwood at the backcourt and the gang of De Vance, Marc Pingris, Rafi Reavis and Yancy de Ocampo against Beau Belga, JR Quinahan, Jervy Cruz, Larry Rodriguez and Ronnie Matias at the frontcourt.

Yap, the biggest ace on Cone’s sleeves, is up for a tough grind with RoS defensive stopper Jireh Ibanes set to return from an injury.

“We are happy that we’re back with our full force now that Jireh is able to play,” said Guiao.

“Rebounding is still our biggest problem as shown in the Ginebra series. We aim to keep the game fast to compensate for our lack of size,” added Guiao.