Underdogs up vs Beermen, Panthers

Will San Miguel stay in the hunt for a possible three straight championships? Will Alaska stay on track for a successful title defense. Or will Pop Cola and Red Bull spoil their bids to set an improbable showdown for a slot in the finals.

These are the questions begging for answers at the close of the PBA All-Filipino quarterfinal round although whatever the results, these will no longer come as a surprise after Barangay Ginebra shook the foundation of the playoffs seedings by ousting fourth-ranked Purefoods Friday.

Red Bull and Alaska have achieved half of what Ginebra did to Purefoods, and the Thunder and the Aces vow to go all the way to likewise complete a two-game reversal of their top-ranked rivals at the close of the quarterfinals today at the Araneta Coliseum.

Alaska and Pop Cola knock each other out at 4:15 p.m., then Red Bull and San Miguel do the same at 6:30. The winners of the double sudden-death join Ginebra and Shell in the Final Four.

It’s not surprising that oddsmakers are now split on both matchups after the Thunder stunned the Beermen, 85-73, and the Aces jolted the Panthers, 78-71, Wednesday.

Coaches Yeng Guiao of Red Bull and Tim Cone of Alaska, meanwhile, are firm on their belief that they can make it two in a row versus their respective rivals.

"We respect San Miguel because of its achievements but we certainly not fear them," said Guiao although he thought they enjoyed so much luck in forcing the rubbermatch against the badly-undermanned San Miguel team.

True enough, the Thunder saw the breaks of the game go their way on several occasions. Even before the game started, Red Bull gained big advantage over San Miguel as the SMC franchise lost key players Dwight Lago and Boybits Victoria. Lago flew to the United States to attend to his critically-ill father while Victoria was afflicted with hepatitis.

"We’ll try to build momentum on this victory. We’ll surely go for it Sunday (today)," said Guiao.

Meanwhile, believing there is no such thing as momentum in a playoff, Cone said he’ll try to prepare his team for whatever adjustments Pop Cola makes as they seek to keep their hopes for a second straight All-Filipino championship.

The Aces dominated the Panthers on all fronts Wednesday as they forced the rubbermatch.