INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines -- Ryan Gregorio and Tim Cone can try to downplay their respective team?s victories in the opener of the Smart PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

But it won?t detract anyone from the fact that Purefoods and Alaska have more than 1-0 leads over Red Bull and Sta. Lucia Realty tucked under their belts -- they?re both winning the battle of the wills.

The Tender Juicy Giants and the Aces gun for 2-0 leads Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City, hoping to shoot down wins that will give them complete control of the series -- if they both haven?t controlled them after convincing wins on Sunday also at the Pasay venue.

?It?s way, way too early to make predictions and one game doesn?t decide a series,? Grand Slam champion coach, Cone, who is seeking his 13th overall title, said. ?It (Game 1 victory) doesn?t guarantee us anything.?

The Aces and the Realtors, who came out of a three-week break looking totally rusty, slug it out in the 7:20 p.m. contest, just right after the Giants and the Barako collide at 4:50 p.m.

?The only advantage that we have is that we have to win three games and they have to win four,? Gregorio said. ?I think we just went up against a battle-weary Red Bull team. Clearly, this (Game 1) was not their game.?

But the Giants were clearly in their element, leading by huge margins early and winning even bigger as Red Bull never found its way into the game for one of its uglier losses in the tournament.

Purefoods staged the telling breakaway in the third period, behind rookie point guard Chico Lanete, who burned the Barako with 16 of his 18 points built around four three-point shots.

And what?s more surprising in the 103-84 win was that James Yap, the 2006 Most Valuable Player, never saw the need to assert himself offensively. He finished with just 11 points, one of five Giants in twin digits.

Yap hitting his stride Wednesday would make matters a lot more difficult for Red Bull?s Yeng Guiao, who got practically nothing working on Sunday, an effort that was far from the form the Barako displayed in ousting powerhouse Magnolia in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the Realtors, after closing out the elimination round with a franchise record eight straight wins, were suddenly the team of old starting from the second quarter of their series opener with the Aces.

Alaska erased an early 10-point deficit and then broke away from there to win with plenty to spare as its backcourt dominated Sta. Lucia?s with impunity. Musong R. Castillo