CLASH OF CHAMPS, BEST IMPORTS

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Reigning titlist Star and Philippine Cup holder San Miguel Beer clash in a battle of champs at the resumption of the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

The Hotshots seek to check a two-game slump while the Beermen hope to stretch their run to three games as they slug it out in the 5:15 p.m. mainer of the first bill back on home soil after the league’s two-game Dubai swing.

Both teams are convinced they’ve done their assignments while Rain or Shine, GlobalPort and Barangay Ginebra put on a show for overseas Filipino workers in the Arabian business hub. The Hotshots went back to basics in a bid to get going again while the Beermen exerted effort to keep their sharpness.

The Beermen are in the middle of the chart at 2-2, having won their last two games against the Elasto Painters (104-91) and the Batang Pier (124-102) while the Hotshots are near the cellar at 1-2, having dropped their last two matches against the Batang Pier (89-91) and the Meralco Bolts (81-83).

“It’s been a tough week of discussions and meetings after a couple of close losses. The guys have worked hard getting back to basics,” said Star head coach Tim Cone.

“At this point, it’s all about moving forward from here. We still have a lot of conference left,” Cone also said.

The league’s winningest coach, Cone noted they’ve been on a struggle since winning a grand slam last season. They’d lost their Philippine Cup title to the Beermen and the Commissioner’s Cup crown to the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.

San Miguel Beer counterpart Leo Austria, meanwhile, is hopeful their own slump is over.

The Beermen took a dive with hardly a break after ruling the all-Filipino tourney.

“I’m not making excuses but remember we were a tired team in the second conference,” Austria said.

“I think we were a little overwhelmed when we won the Philippine Cup which was the first for San Miguel in 14 years. We celebrated for a week. From the Finals, our first game in the Commissioner’s Cup was 10 days later. We weren’t in condition to play right away. Then, we had problems with our import,” Austria added.

Their woes extended to their first two games in the Governors Cup as import AZ Reid was hit by a stomach problem.

But Reid has since recovered, a big factor in their back-to-back triumphs over Rain or Shine and GlobalPort.

Fully recovered from his stomach ailment, Reid flashed back his Best Import form, matching the team record nine three-pointers and tying his personal season-best of 41 points as San Miguel Beer ended GlobalPort’s franchise-record run on May 17.

“It feels good to be 100 percent,” said Reid who energized the Beermen in his return to tip-top shape.

“I’m not a guy who makes excuses, but if you’re sick, you’re sick and you can’t do anything about it,” the two-time Best Import also said, ruing his struggle in their first two games where he was limited to 17 and 13 points.

Reid was nearly unstoppable versus the Batang Pier, starring in their third-quarter breakaway with baskets from all over the floor.

The main matchup to watch in the SMB-Star game should be that of Reid and Marqus Blakely, the Best Imports in the last two stagings of the Governors Cup. (SB)

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