Aces gun for 3-1; Beermen eye tie
MANILA, Philippines–AS FAR as coach Siot Tanquingcen is concerned, San Miguel Beer has not accomplished anything yet despite its convincing win in Game 3 of the PBA Fiesta Conference finals. Hoping to sustain their blazing form, the Beermen look to tie the series at two games each when they clash against the Aces at 7 tonight at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay. “There’s no room for us to celebrate or even think we’ve done anything,” said Tanquingcen. “If you relax, you’ll be down 3-1.” Drawing big games from import Gabe Freeman and Jay Washington, the Beermen sent the Aces crashing back to earth with a 96-80 victory in Game 3 Wednesday night and avoided falling into a fatal 0-3 hole. The Beermen imposed their will, playing an up-tempo game and ruled the shaded lane. For the first time in the series, San Miguel’s formidable talent was evident. “We let them play to their formidable talent,” Alaska coach Tim Cone said. Tanquingcen can only hope that the series continues to play out that way, but expects Cone to pull a surprise. “Coach Tim (Cone) is pretty good in adjusting,” said Tanquingcen, noting the three-big lineup of 6-foot-6 Diamon Simpson, 6-9 Sam Eman and 6-7 Sonny Thoss that the Alaska mentor fielded on the floor in the fourth quarter of Game 3. Cone was surprisingly upbeat despite the loss and expressed confidence the Aces can pull out all the stops in Game 4. “We started to believe in the hype we’re better than much better than what we are. Now we have a better dose of reality and we’re okay with that,” Cone said. More than anything, Cone said the Game 3 defeat would remind his players that they would have to grind out every game. “There’s no easy way to win a championship,” Cone continued. “It’s always the hard way.” Hounded by quick double teams, Simpson was held to just 16 points in Game 3 after firing 29 in the second game of the series. LA Tenorio also found difficulty dealing with San Miguel’s Denok Miranda, who was a surprise starter at point guard Wednesday.
