SAN Miguel Beer and defending champion Ginebra simply want to avert possible disaster and make good use of their twice-to-beat bonuses.
The Beermen and the Kings try to show the door at their quarterfinal opponents today in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
No. 2 SMB takes on seventh seed Rain or Shine in the curtain-raiser at 4 p.m. before third-ranked Ginebra collides with No. 6 NorthPort in the nightcap at 8.
The Beermen will go into battle as the favorites, armed with a five-game winning streak and an 8-3 mark after the eliminations, counting a 125-117 victory over the Blackwater Bossing seven days ago.
Even more impressive, however, are the Elasto Painters of coach Yeng Guiao, who notched six wins in a row capped by a heart-stopping 112-111 escape over the Converge FiberXers last Sunday after a woeful 0-5 start in the season-opening meet.
Despite having their backs against the wall, Guiao said his team will not give up but added his charges will have their hands full against SMB.
“Kapag na-disgrasya mo iyan ng minsan baka ma-pressure na sa susunod. Ang hirap lang i-rattle ng San Miguel, mas beterano sila sa amin,” Guiao said. “Malaking problema talaga si June Mar (Fajardo) at saka si (Bennie) Boatwright. I think their combination is, I wouldn’t say, unguardable.
“Pparang version sila ni Arwind (Santos) and June Mar. Only Boatwright is probably a better shooter and a bigger player who can also post up,” he added.
Aside from Boatwright and Fajardo, the pro league’s reigning seven-time MVP, the likes of CJ Perez, Terrence Romeo, Don Trollano, and Mo Tautuaa will be counted upon by the Beermen to deliver.
To say SMB is a powerhouse five is an understatement.
“They’re very comfortable running the high-low (offense) and they’re surrounded by locals who are very talented and can also score,” Guiao said of the Beermen.
“So, inaayos namin ngayon kung paano depensahan iyon. We have some ideas on how to do it, but we won’t know until the game kung uubra iyong mga plano namin.”
Guiao, who will pin his hopes on import Tree Treadwell, Andrei Caracut, Leonard Santillan, Rey Nambatac, Jhonard Clarito, and Beau Belga, wants his squad to outrun SMB to give itself a chance.
“The locals of San Miguel are just too talented for us to defend on single coverage matchups. So, kailangan talaga may konsepto ka kung paano kayo magtutulungan,” he said. “Walang chink sa armor nila offensively. Maybe we can also attack their defense. Doon medyo mayroon kaming slight advantage because I think we can play a faster-paced game.
“So, we will try to maximize iyong advantage namin na iyon. But at the same time if we cannot solve iyong combination ni June Mar and Boatwright wala kaming chance sa San Miguel.”
The Beermen downed the Painters 115-110 last Nov. 29.
The Kings, coming off a 103-99 triumph over the NLEX Road Warriors last Saturday in Batangas, finished the eliminations with an 8-3 card.
Reinforcement Tony Bishop, former MVP Scottie Thompson, Christian Standhardinger, Jamie Malonzo, and Maverick Ahanmisi are expected to show the way for the wards of tactician Tim Cone.
The Batang Pier entered the Last Eight thanks to their 6-5 record but actually lost to the Kings 93-103 in their final eliminations outing last Jan. 7.
NorthPort will rely on import Venky Jois, Arvin Tolentino, JM Calma, and freshmen Cade Flores and Fran Yu.
A semifinals showdown pitting Ginebra and SMB loom but they must first hurdle the Batang Pier and the Painters.
