Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
On the cusp of another crown, San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria remained cautious.
On the brink of a failed title bid, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero stayed defiant.
That’s how things are when the Beermen take the first of three tries to claim an unprecedented fourth PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night in squaring off with the desperate Hotshots in Game 5 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Save for their fourth quarter collapse that led to a 105-103 Game 1 loss, the Beermen have been in cruise control in the best-of-seven series, where the Hotshots have yet to find an answer to their incredible firepower.
Reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos have been steady, but the likes of Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot have had their turns in giving the Hotshots problems, particularly in Game 4 on Wednesday.
Reserves like Matt Ganuelas Rosser and Brian Heruela have also stepped up for the Beermen, giving Austria more weapons and making Magnolia’s task of pulling off an upset highly improbable.
“Their backs are against the wall and I’m sure they’ll come out very hard (in Game 5),” said Austria of the Hotshots in Filipino. “They’re hurting and you know they would want to fight back. This series is far from over.”
Santos is looking forward to a celebration on Friday night as the Beermen look to collect a league-high eighth all-Filipino crown.
“We just want to win and celebrate and reward ourselves for all the sacrifices that we’ve made to get to this point,” Santos said in Filipino.
The Hotshots came up with a gallant stand in Game 4, only to fall short in the endgame when Mark Barroca committed a critical turnover that led to Santos’ game-clinching free throws.
“We’ll just try to live another day, we’ll just try to find ways to win on Friday,” Victolero said in his postgame talk in the press room. “Being 3-1 down is a big deficit, but I’m still positive. Anything is possible.”
Only two teams have fought back from such a deficit in a best-of-seven series to win, with San Miguel pulling off the feat two years ago. The Beermen actually rallied from 0-3 down to win over Alaska.
Victolero is taking plenty of encouragement from the Game 4 loss, saying it was their best game of the series.
“It’s a defensive game and that’s our game,” Victolero said, noting how his team held the Beermen to just within 80 points. “We cannot dominate San Miguel because of their firepower, we’ll just try to stay close, stay in the game for 48 minutes for us to have a chance.”