San Miguel Beer tries to nail down the first title slot in the PBA Fiesta Conference today even as Talk ‘N Text and Alaska break their 2-2 deadlock in their own semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.
With a 3-1 lead set up by back-to-back wins, the Beermen go for the clincher at 5 p.m. against the Derby Ace Llamados, who remain confident they can stave off elimination and keep alive their bid for a sweep of the season’s two crowns.
“We have been in this situation before,” Gregorio told the Inquirer over the phone yesterday, noting that the team rallied from the same deficit to humble Alaska in 2006.
“I truly believe that this is a magical season for us,” Gregorio continued. “We could have thrown the white flag of surrender considering the injuries that have hit our team ever since the last tournament (Philippine Cup)
“But we will continue pushing until we achieve our goal, and that is to complete the rare modern-day Grand Slam.”
By forging a second deadlock in the best-of-seven series Wednesday, the Tropang Texters have the momentum in their 7 p.m. clash with the Aces, who prevailed in Games 1 and 3.
Talk ‘N Text has decided to stick it out with Shawn Daniels—even if a potential replacement in Omar Sneed is already in town—after his explosive performance in the Texters’ 83-62 win in Game 4.
Derby Ace, which won the Philippine Cup earlier in the season, will continue to miss the injured Kerby Raymundo although Gregorio knows a lot will depend on import Tony Washam’s performance today.
Washam was held to just 12 points in an atrocious shooting performance Wednesday, and Gregorio said the second-generation PBA import complained of losing his legs because of the hectic schedule he faced.
“But we really don’t talk about it (fatigue) with the team because we don’t want them to have an excuse to lose,” Gregorio added.
San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen also expects no less than a war in Game 5.
“We cannot relax against a team like Derby Ace because they are very resilient,” he said.
Alaska will also pin its hopes on import Diamon Simpson, who was good for just 12 points Wednesday in a cold performance that somehow rubbed off on Cyrus Baguio, Joe Devance and LA Tenorio.
The three went on to finish with a combined 19 points.