Photo by AUGUST DELA CRUZ
A rock-solid San Miguel Beer crew that is struggling big time and an Alaska side crippled by injuries to its key players clash for the first time today since their unforgettable PBA Philippine Cup Finals less than a month ago.
The Beermen are reeling from three straight shock setbacks—two from lowly expansion franchises—while the Aces have practically their starting unit on sick bay and are uncharacteristically at the bottom of the standings in the Commissioner’s Cup.
They slug it out at 7 p.m. today at Smart Araneta Coliseum for the first time since that Game 7 title showdown which the Beermen won, 80-78, on Arwind Santos’ three-pointer with under a minute left.
Alaska will enter the game still likely without Sonny Thoss and JV Casio, who have been out since the start of the conference, and Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel, who sat out the last Aces loss because of injury.
San Miguel took losses from KIA Motors and Blackwater, becoming the first team to lose to the two expansion clubs this season.
June Mar Fajardo, the reigning MVP and Philippine Cup Best Player, is playing far from the level that he did in the last conference, while Santos has been struggling from beyond the arc, making just one of more than 20 attempts from there.
Blackwater will try to nail the franchise’s first winning run when the Elite battle another winless side, NLEX, in the 4:15 p.m. contest.