Alaska gets first crack at ending PBA PH Cup title drought

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If they would have their way, the Alaska Milk Aces won’t give June Mar Fajardo a chance to get back in the finals series.

A game away from closing out the Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup finale, the Aces go for kill versus the embattled San Miguel Beermen in Game Four at the Philsports Arena in Pasig Sunday.

A win would have the Aces healing wounds of two finals losses to the Beermen last season and distinguishing themselves only the third team in league history to win the all-Filipino crown via a sweet four-game sweep.

The Aces put the series away from the Beermen on Friday on an 82-75 victory in Game Three at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.

With an insurmountable 3-0 series lead, Alaska has got four cracks at ending a 15-year title drought in the league’s most prestigious tourney.

“I’m hoping we can finish it at the Ultra (Philsports Arena) but we’ve talked about how they (the Beermen) will not hand us anything,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

A concern for the Aces is the possible return of Fajardo if ever the Beermen are able to stretch the series.

And that’s one reason why the Aces would come out trying to dish out their best to sweep away the Beermen Sunday.

The Aces try to duplicate the feats of the Purefoods Hotdogs and the Talk n Text Tropang Texters in the 2010 and 2013 editions of the Philippine Cup.

Overall, only three other teams have won a PBA championship via the same route – Northern Cement versus Manila Beer in the 1985 Reinforced Conference, Swift Mighty Meaty against Seven-Up in the 1992 Third Conference and San Miguel Beer opposite Alaska in the 2015 Governors Cup.

The Beermen would rather not think about their situation and just try their best to pull one Sunday.

“It’s a cliché but we’ll really take it one game at a time,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

“The hardest part for a coach is how to motivate your team when you’re down. What I’ve told the guys is don’t look at the score, just give your best and try to fight.”

Austria said Fajardo is showing up at the Philsports Arena as the sure winner of the Best Player of the Conference award to be handed out shortly before tip off in Game Four.

“I will encourage him to be in his uniform for the fans and for his teammates. Sana maka-inspire but I’m definitely not using him just for the sake of trying to extend the series,” said Austria.

“His range of motion is now 100 percent after undergoing a rehab session. He’s been fitted a knee brace but he’s still feeling some pain. He could be okay already in a week or two. I don’t want to sacrifice that. I don’t want to delay his recovery.”

But even without Fajardo, the Beermen are not about to relinquish the crown that they won in a classic Game Seven versus the Aces last season.

“Lagi naman nandoon kami sa laban. Decision-making lang talaga sa endgame ang problema. Lapses ang pumapatay sa amin,” said Austria.

“In Game One, we’re terribly beat in rebounding. In the next two games, dikit na ang laban sa rebounds. Hindi lang kami talaga maka-closeout. Doon siguro namin name-miss si Junmar,” Austria also said.

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