Aces, Warriors eye playoff slots

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk and NLEX step up similar bids for an early playoff passage as they take on struggling foes Star and Meralco, respectively, in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.

The Road Warriors and the Bolts clash at 4:15 p.m. then the Aces and the Hotshots collide at 7 p.m. in a Tuesday twinbill kicking off the last half of the one-round-robin elimination phase.

Alaska (4-1) and NLEX (3-2) are in the upper half of the chart with San Miguel Beer (5-1), Rain or Shine (4-1), Talk n Text (3-2) and Globalport (3-2) halfway through the elims.

With stirring triumphs in their previous games, the Aces and the Road Warriors hope to get going to push their drives for Top Two or Top Six.

The Top Two gain outright entry into the semifinals while the next four earn twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th seeds.

In the Alaska-Star tiff, the Aces are the odds-on picks being the more organized and far steadier at this moment.

The NLEX-Meralco match is a tough call with the Bolts having just snapped a five-game losing skein.

“Meralco is a very strong team. Now that they have got over the hump, they will be tough to beat,” said NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez.

Meralco coach Norman Black firmly believes they’re a far better team than what their record (1-5) suggests.

“This team is better than what we’ve shown so far,” said Black. “Our major problem is that sometimes three guys are on the same page, two are not; sometimes two are on the same page, three are not.”

The Aces were in great form in their 123-104 shellacking of the Globalport Batang Pier Friday. The Hotshots, meanwhile, were pathetic in their 83-87 loss to the previously winless Meralco squad Saturday.

Coach Jason Webb and his troops had hoped to win that match to establish momentum going to their tough back-to-back matches against elite rivals Alaska and San Miguel Beer.