By Joel Orellana
SAN MIGUEL Beer is chasing history. Alaska is hoping to meet its destiny.
The Beermen clash with the Aces for one last time after splitting the first six games of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup championship series.
The winner-take-all Game Seven is set at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
San Miguel is trying to become the first team in any professional basketball league around the world to come back from a 0-3 deficit and win the title.
“Before, we’re just trying to stay alive and not to get swept by Alaska. Now, we are one win away from history. We will play our best in Game Seven,” Beermen Head Coach Leo Austria said.
San Miguel has staved off elimination three times after being down 0-3 in the series and Austria said it was the team’s pride that kept them hanging on in the series and with the return of reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo in Game Five, the players are now more determined to claim that piece of history.
“Just the mere presence of June Mar inspires the [San Miguel] fans and the players. And now he’s playing, I think we have a better chance to go all the way,” Austria added.
The series took a four-day break and Austria said the lull could help the Aces regroup and rekindle the fire that was missing in their last three games.
“The momentum is clearly on our side. We really wanted to play it [Game Seven] on Sunday but we have no control of that,” said Austria, who is a win shy of his third PBA jewel in just four conferences.
Alaska Head Coach Alex Compton said not only did the momentum shift to the Beermen, but the pressure is now on the most successful club in the league. The defending champions are expected to win the crown because of sheer firepower.
If there’s one thing that Compton wants to see in his Aces in Game Seven is for them to enjoy playing the winner-take-all contest. He felt that his wards were too tight and too eager to finish off the Beermen in the previous three encounters.
“I get excited about this stuff. I have a hard head. I’m a believer. I firmly believe in my guys and I love the fact that I got a chance to coach them. My guys are such a great group to coach and I hope I can deliver for them and we play a great game,” Compton told the league’s web site.
“I still think we got to grab hold of our destiny. One team will make it happen, one won’t make enough plays to make it happen. One team will be champion, one won’t. That’s just how it works. This is a true character game for both teams. It should be pretty exciting,” he added.
The Wilfred Uytengsu-owned franchise was so near to claiming its 15th PBA title and first All-Filipino crown since 2000 but lost steam in Games Four and Five and lost both in overtime.
In Game Six San Miguel was dominating in the fourth period and pulled off a convincing 100-89 victory to force a deciding match—the same scenario as last season’s, when the Beermen won the title also against the Aces.