Beermen, Aces try to stay on top

ALASKA hopes to draw another monster game from Calvin Abueva. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

LOCKED in a heated race for the No. 1 playoff spot, Alaska and San Miguel Beer clash with separate foes today as the elimination round of the PBA Philippine Cup enters its homestretch at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The Aces take the Big Dome floor first at 4:15 p.m. against NLEX before the Beermen battle Meralco at 7 p.m. as they try to keep in step with each other and creep closer to an automatic Final Four berth.

Finishing 1-2 in the tournament would give them the first two seats in the semifinals. The next eight teams will go through a first phase in the quarterfinals with the four survivors playing in the second.

That’s why the games are also important for the Road Warriors and the Bolts as they need to win their remaining games in order to qualify in the upper half of the standings.

Teams No. 3 to No. 6 will clash with No. 7 to No. 10 in the first phase of the quartefinals needing to win just once to advance. As things stand, Meralco is one game out of sixth spot at 4-4 and NLEX two at 3-5.

Expansion teams KIA Motors and Blackwater got the boot as expected. For finishing in the bottom two, however, they get the consolation of fielding imports of unlimited height in the next conference, the Commissioner’s Cup.

San Miguel, which has a four-game winning streak going, was at its best in ripping Globalport, 95-69, last Friday behind the 19 points of Arwind Santos and the 17 and 13 rebounds of June Mar Fajardo.

The Beermen have a huge advantage in size over the Bolts, who are no strangers to chopping down bigger foes. Meralco owns a big victory over Barangay Ginebra earlier in the round.

Alaska will again rely on its high-octane game on both ends against the Road Warriors, who will be coming into the game still hurting from a 95-93 nipping at the hands of Rain or Shine just three nights ago.

Calvin Abueva will again be the “energizer bunny” for the Aces, who are off to their finest start in the post-Tim Cone era. Alaska is seeking its second title after Cone left the team at the end of the 2011 season to join Purefoods.

NLEX looked like it already had the game won against the Elasto Painters, enjoying a six-point edge going into the final 44 seconds before Paul Lee broke the Road Warriors’ hearts by taking over the game.