BEERMEN TRY TO BREAK AWAY FROM PACK CHASING TOP 2 SPOTS
San Miguel Beer tries to inch closer to an outright semifinals entry as it shoots for a fifth straight win in tangling with on-and-off Meralco in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday.
The Beermen and the Bolts face off at 7 p.m. with the former out to build more gap between them and the chasing pack.
SMB coach Leo Austria said they’re determined to make the Top Two and get an automatic passage into the Final Four.
The Bolts, meanwhile, hope to be steadier so they can still make a run at a Top 6 finish.
Coach Norman Black and his team are currently at seventh place at 4-4, two full games behind third running Rain or Shine (6-2) and a game off joint fourth placers Barangay Ginebra (5-3), Talk n Text (5-3) and Purefoods (5-3).
All these teams hope to at least make the Top 6 to gain outright semis passage (for the Top Two) or secure a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals (for the third to sixth placers).
Austria is confident they’re a cinch to be in the Top Two, believing only Talk n Text is the big stumbling block ahead of them in the elims.
“We’re fortunate mas magaang na ang dadaanan namin while Alaska, Rain or Shine and Ginebra eh magra-round robin pa. Maglalaban-laban pa sila,” said Austria.
Meralco, meanwhile, has San Miguel Beer, Kia and GlobalPort for its last three games in the elims. (SB)
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