Just six days after both teams wrapped up their elimination campaigns against each other, San Miguel Beer and Air21 once again find themselves on opposite ends as they begin their quarterfinals showdown Tuesday in the 2014 PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The second-seed Beermen will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage over the seventh-seed Express when they play at 5:45 p.m.
San Miguel had to dig itself from an 18-point hole in the fourth to walk away with a 93-85 win over Air21 last Holy Wednesday, securing the number two spot in the playoffs.
The quartet of Kevin Jones, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, and June Mar Fajardo joined forces to carry the Beermen to the win as they bucked a poor shooting night which saw them recover late in the game.
“We really struggled shooting,” said San Miguel Beer team consultant Todd Purves.
“I thought we had some great looks early on in the game and I think we missed shots that we normally make. Our guys just hung in there until our shots came.”
The American tactician reminded his boys that this kind of a showing has no place in the playoffs, with a loss in the opener could swing the momentum to coach Franz Pumaren’s squad.
“You can’t let a poor shooting night affect the other things you do in the game,” Purves said. “Certainly we have to play at an another level if we want to win playoff games.”
The Beermen will have their hands full against the Express’ high-scoring import Wesley Witherspoon, and other able locals in Asi Taulava, Joseph Yeo, Mac Cardona, and Sean Anthony. (RL)
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