Aces eye 3-1 lead, Beermen seek equalizer

CEBU, Philippines – Alaska Milk and San Miguel Beer return from a two-day respite, clashing in an all-important Game Four of their title duel where the Aces look to build an insurmountable lead versus the beleaguered Beermen who, on the other hand, hope to regroup and get back in the series.

With winning a PBA ring as overriding motivation, the Aces try to bury the Beermen in a deep 3-1 hole at the resumption of their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven titular playoff tonight at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

“Of all our players, only Eric Menk has got a (Philippine Cup championship) ring. That’s a good motivation for us,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

The Aces, chasing a first all-Filipino crown in 15 years, brim with confidence going to Game Four, following their amazing come-from-behind 78-70 win in Game Three that was much like their 88-82 triumph in the series opener.

Alaska has distinguished itself the league’s comeback king as the Aces had carved out two wins in similar fashion versus the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, San Miguel, after a dominant ride from the elimination round, is now on shaky ground following two heartbreaking meltdowns in the finals.

The Aces are beating the Beermen on sheer desire and determination, starting everything with a tremendous defensive effort.

“Everybody has committed to have that defensive mindset the full 48 minutes,” said Alaska center Sonny Thoss.

The Aces are not to slow down, with their coach stressing their “2-1 lead doesn’t mean anything except 2-1.”

“You can’t close out a best-of-seven series with that,” said Compton, hinting at coming out stronger in an attempt to put SMB in a hole a few teams have come out to win a championship.

The Beermen, however, would likely be as determined as they play a virtual knockout game.

Though down, SMB coach Leo Austria said they still have a positive outlook about the series.

“Everyone is positive. We’ve talked and decided to forget about the first three games. We’ll consider Game Four as the start of the series and we’ll work hard to win it,” said Austria.

“Physically, we’re in shape. Emotionally, sabi namin huag na tayong mag-emote-emote at walang mangyayari dyan,” Austria also said.

Austria is convinced they can stop Alaska and salvage the series.

“We led by big margins in Game One and Game Three as we did the right things. That’s what we have to do,” he said.— Philippine STAR News Service

Of course, the Beermen have to solve Alaska’s suffocating defense, particularly the clog on Junemar Fajardo at the paint.

Fajardo, the league’s scoring leader with an average of 19.2 points through the semis, has been limited to 14.0 with his field attempts down to nine a game in the finals.

“I don’t know why the ball isn’t coming. But we’ll make some adjustments in our game,” he said.   – Philippine STAR News Service (FREEMAN)