San Miguel eager bounce back, battles determined Blackwater
San Miguel Beer is eager to bounce back from a loss while Blackwater is determined to get going after a breakthrough triumph as the two teams slug it out in the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Wednesday night.
The Beermen are the outstanding favorites with their star-studded, talent-laden roster, but the Elite are confident they can compete and win coming from a 92-90 win over the Meralco Bolts.
San Miguel, meanwhile, is coming off an 84-99 loss to Rain or Shine, heading to its 7 p.m. tussle with Blackwater.
“I’m not saying we can beat San Miguel but hopefully our confidence and morale will be on a higher level after scoring our first win in the all-Filipino tourney (against Meralco),” said Blackwater coach Leo Isaac.
The Elite took 14 games from last season to crash into the win-column in the Philippine Cup.
“We’d always been there, but just couldn’t get the win. In our first two games, we’re there pero kulang sa finish. Finally, nakuha namin versus Meralco,” said Isaac. “We hope that things will be in our favor going into our next games.”
They certainly need a lot of that facing the reigning two-conference champs.
In their Philippine Cup matchup last year, the Beermen tore the Elite to shreds, 91-62.
“We have to bounce back hard,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria as they try to catch up with the Alaska Milk Aces at second place at 3-1.
“Kulang talaga sa effort last game against Rain or Shine, nagkumpiyansa. Hopefully, yung frame of mind ng mga players eh really to bounce back hard,” Austria also said.
The amiable SMB coach said they can’t take Blackwater lightly.
“They have a decent lineup and every game all out sila. They have nothing to lose and they’re playing without pressure at all. Kung lalaru-laruin mo sila, eh delikado ka,” Austria said.
Blackwater, behind a gutsy drive by third-year pro Carlo Lastimosa in the closing seconds, pulled through with the two-point nail-biter over Meralco.
Lastimosa, a transferee from Barako Bull, took charge at the finish, scoring five points, including the deciding basket off Rey Guevarra and Jared Dillinger with one second to go as the Elite salvaged the victory in the game where they led by 18 points early on. (SB)
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