SAN Miguel Beer tries to keep pace with league-leader Alaska, as it shoots for its third straight win against Barako Bull in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen and the Energy clash at 3 p.m. with the former hoping to join the unbeaten Aces at the top of the standings.
In the main game, Rain or Shine seeks its third win against Talk ‘N Text at 5:15 p.m.
San Miguel has beaten two tournament contenders so far—Rain or Shine (87-79) and defending champion Purefoods (87-80)—and new Head Coach Leo Austria said they could not take the winless Barako Bull lightly as they aim for an automatic semifinals seat.
“Our wins against them should boost our morale,” said Austria, the team’s fourth coach in the last two seasons.
“We need to continue to improve and get better. We want to finish No. 1 or No. 2 which will give us automatic entry into the semifinals. That’s important because this is a balanced league,” he added.
Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) June Mar Fajardo and former MVP Arwind Santos are leading the way for the Beermen and are getting solid support from Sol Mercado, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Lutz, Doug Kramer and Rico Maierhofer.
The Energy hope to put an end to their awful start as the wards of new Coach Koy Banal are coming off an 81-91 loss to GlobalPort.
Banal is still searching for his first PBA win. He replaced former San Miguel mentor Siot Tanquingcen three days before the 40th season tipped off.
In the main tiff, the Elasto Painters (2-1) gun for a crucial win against the Tropang Texters (1-2), who have been struggling early in the tournament.
Rain or Shine is coming off a 117-88 demolition of newcomer Blackwater behind Paul Lee’s 22 points. Beau Belga (16) and TY Tang (15) also contributed big to offset the absence of Ryan Arana and Chris Tiu due to injuries.
“This is a big game for us,” Elasto Painters mentor Yeng Guiao said.
Rain or Shine faces a hurting Talk ‘N Text five, which dropped a 100-98 heartbreaker to league-leader Alaska on Calvin Abueva’s buzzer-beating floater.
The Tropang Texters also lost to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 81-101, at the start of the season on October 19 and their only win came at the expense of sister team NLEX, 103-81.
Image credits: PBA image