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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
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04
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25
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2024
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SERVICES
THE INQUIRER COMPANY
04
25
2024
PBA IMAGES
For the second straight conference, San Miguel Beer is determined to rise from the grave.
Not if Rain or Shine could help it.
Who among the Elasto Painters and Beermen have stronger resolve would be known when they clash for what could be the deciding game Thursday in their Oppo-PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series at the PhilSports Arena.
A 98-96 escape last Tuesday gave Rain or Shine a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five duel and it could complete a sweep and realize a second straight finals appearance in the mid-season tourney should it prevail anew.
For SMB the experience is nothing new since it also fell into a 0-3 hole against Alaska in the season-opening Philippine Cup, only to stage a historic fightback to retain the title.
Beermen coach Leo Austria sure is hoping the experience gained from that series would be translated by his players into game starting Thursday.
“Hindi matatawaran iyung ganu’ng klase ng experience, mga lessons learned. Sana lumabas lahat bukas,” he said.
Records show that SMB has never been swept in a best-of-five or even a best-of-seven series, but history is definitely on Rain or Shine’s side since 43 of 46 teams which led 2-0 in a race-to-three went on to wrap it up with 26 completing a sweep.
The only teams which managed to come back from 0-2 are Crispa (in the 1975 Third Conference finals), Purefoods (1990 Third Conference finals) and Ginebra (2010 Philippine Cup quarterfinals).
And then there’s Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who has cast his spell on SMB before. Guiao’s Red Bull squad also took a 2-0 lead over SMB during the tourney’s 2002 edition, wrapped the duel up in four games and went on to retain the crown.
Due to a previous commitment to attend a political rally in his native Pampanga, Guiao missed Game 2 but explicitly issued instructions to his players and staff the day before. He will be on hand to personally bark his orders Thursday.
There are other sources of concern for SMB and not just because the likes of Jericho Cruz, Jeff Chan, JR Quinahan, Maverick Ahanmisi and Paul Lee have continued to step it up for Rain or Shine.
Minutes after the Game 2 loss Tyler Wilkerson stormed out of the SMB dugout, overheard by some witnesses as saying: “Take me home to America… I don’t want to come back anymore.”
Austria said things “have been ironed out” with Wilkerson, although he did not go into details. “Tingnan na lang natin bukas,” was all he offered.
But Marcio Lassiter must be the most frustrated among the SMB players right now. After scoring just three points on a 1-for-9 field shooting in a 94-98 Game 1 loss, the usually high-scoring guard again emerged with the same total following a 1-for-11 clip last Tuesday.
Actually, Lassiter almost won it for SMB in Game 2, but his banked-in triple was ruled as having come after the final buzzer.
Wilkerson followed up a 40-point Game 1 production with 35 last Tuesday and Alex Cabagnot came alive in the fourth period to finish with 13, but June Mar Fajardo was held to only 14 points, nine below his initial output in the series.
“We just got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing, especially on the defensive end,” said Rain or Shine import Pierre Henderson-Niles, who got to stay out of foul trouble and wound up with 15 points and 16 rebounds in Game 2.
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