Tough grind for Hotshots

It won’t be easy for Purefoods to barge into the PBA Philippine Cup finals and shoot for a fifth straight title. In fact, it won’t be easy for the Star Hotshots even to qualify for the semifinals. But if there’s a team that can defy the odds, it’s Purefoods – what with a rich championship tradition highlighted by a Grand Slam last season.

Purefoods got off to a shaky start at 1-4 then strung up four straight wins before losing two of its last three outings to end the eliminations with a 6-5 record, tying Barangay Ginebra and Meralco for fifth place. Using the quotient system to break the triple tie, Ginebra took the No. 5 spot with a +13 differential, Meralco No. 6 with +7 and Purefoods No. 7 with -20. The Hotshots’ 23-point loss to Ginebra was the backbreaker.

In the tournament format, the top two elimination finishers advance directly to the Final Four. The next four placers gain a twice-to-beat advantage in their quarterfinal pairings where No. 3 plays No. 10, No. 4 against No. 9, No. 5 against No. 8 and No. 6 against No. 7. San Miguel Beer and Rain Or Shine finished with identical 9-2 records to tie for first place but the Beermen claimed pole position because of their 87-79 win over the Elasto Painters. 

* * *

Although Purefoods ended the eliminations on a bright note with a win over Barako Bull last Tuesday, it still wasn’t enough to reward the Hotshots with a twice-to-beat edge. So now, No. 7 Purefoods has to beat No. 6 Meralco twice in the quarterfinals to move up to the knockout stage where the survivor battles the winner of the Alaska-NLEX tie. That means Purefoods has to win three straight do-or-die games in order to advance to the semifinals.

NLEX, Barako Bull and Globalport are in the same predicament as Purefoods. The Road Warriors are in a twice-to-win disadvantage against Alaska. Barako is in the same hole against Talk ‘N’ Text and Globalport in its own pairing against Ginebra. 

For coach Tim Cone, the challenge is to sustain Purefoods’ winning streak. For sure, he’s not thinking of the semifinals, much less the finals, at this stage.  The focus is to survive the first game against Meralco at the Cuneta Astrodome tonight and force a winner-take-all rematch. Purefoods beat Meralco, 77-74, in the eliminations but Sean Anthony and John Wilson didn’t play that night. Anthony shot 16 points and Wilson 13 in Meralco’s 82-70 win over Globalport to clinch a twice-to-beat advantage last Tuesday. They’re expected to play a major role in the playoffs. Since the Meralco game, Purefoods has added Mick Pennisi to the roster, trading away Isaac Holstein and Ronnie Matias to Barako.

* * *

Assuming Purefoods beats Meralco twice, the Hotshots then advance to play the winner of the Alaska-NLEX tie in a one-game knockout for a semifinals ticket. The Bolts are armed and ready to engage Purefoods. They’ve won their last two assignments and three of their last four, the only loss to the Hotshots. Meralco coach Norman Black has no legitimate center but compensates with scrappers like Reynel Hugnatan, Anthony, Jared Dillinger and Cliff Hodge who are hard workers off the boards. It’s Danny Ildefonso’s chance to prove he still belongs in the league as he’ll definitely be called on to work the interior.

Purefoods will count on the tested tandem of James Yap and P. J. Simon, Marc Pingris who has averaged 20.5 points the last two games, Joe De Vance who’s a perfect fit in the triangle, the 4 Ms (Mark Barroca, Justin Melton, Alex Mallari and Allein Maliksi), Yousef Taha and Pennisi. Cone’s advantage is a deep bench but it’s a short series with Meralco so Black hopes the Bolts will pack enough power to finish off Purefoods in one or two if necessary.

It’s highly possible that the one-game knockout stage will pit Talk ‘N’ Text against Ginebra and Purefoods against Alaska, that’s assuming the Texters oust Barako, Alaska repulses NLEX, Ginebra eliminates Globalport and the Hotshots survive the Bolts. With San Miguel Beer and Rain Or Shine waiting, the semifinal pairings could be the Tropa or the Barangay against the Beermen and the Aces or the Hotshots or the Bolts against the Elasto Painters. Conceivable pairings in the finals include Alaska against Talk ‘N’ Text, Ginebra against Purefoods, San Miguel Beer against Rain Or Shine, San Miguel Beer against Purefoods, Talk ‘N’ Text against Purefoods, Ginebra against Rain Or Shine and Alaska against Ginebra. Any of those duels is a guaranteed recipe for a box office hit.