Big night for SMB - or will SLR spoil it?

It will either be San Miguel making a big toast to an eventful evening starting with the coronation of its key players for their individual feats in the season followed by a sort of valedictory address of the whole team in the form of another winning performance on the playing court.

Or Sta. Lucia will simply spoil the San Miguel party, stealing the show of Danny Ildefonso.

With the PBA Annual Awards as backdrop, the Beermen and the Realtors slug it out again tonight at the Araneta Coliseum, disputing the go-ahead victory in the Governors Cup title series now reduced to a best-of-five affair.

Ildefonso, at a tender age of 25, is expected to win a second straight Most Valuable Player trophy and he’s likely to consider the award a badge of honor as he tries to lead the Beermen to a second consecutive win versus the Realtors in Game Three of their championship showdown set at 6 p.m.

Ildefonso and teammates Danny Seigle, Olsen Racela and Nic Belasco are also expected to gain spots in the Mythical Five Selection. The four are all MVP contenders together with Red Bull slotman Davonn Harp.

Barangay Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa is a cinch to win the Rookie of the Year award while the Governors Cup Best Import award is a toss-up between San Miguel’s Lamont Strothers and Sta. Lucia’s Damian Owens and the Player of the Conference award also a toss-up between Sta. Lucia Twin Towers Dennis Espino and Marlou Aquino.

Viva Vintage Sports will telecast the Annual Awards live starting at 4 p.m. on IBC 13.

Ildefonso is expected to win the MVP award hands-down. But surely, Game Three of the title series will be a different story.

San Miguel coach Jong Uichico is gearing up for a big battle, knowing Sta. Lucia will be raring to go out after his Beermen bounced back from an 80-86 defeat in Game One and got even with an 86-78 victory in Game Two.

If the Realtors won convincingly Wednesday, the Beermen returned the compliment Friday, playing menacingly on defense and operating with so much precision on offense.

"The defense was the key. We took away the transition points which proved to be a big factor in their (the Realtors’) win in Game One," said Uichico. "We’re a team that usually doesn’t win by a blowout. We play a deliberate halfcourt game, hoping to keep the game close and try to win by making the points at endgame."

Strothers and Seigle made those needed clutch points Friday. Sta. Lucia aces Owens, Aquino and Espino, meanwhile, couldn’t keep their game going, stymied by personal fouls.

Owens and Aquino got three fouls each even before the first half ended. Espino and Gerard Francisco picked up a fifth foul early in the fourth quarter.

The Beermen raced to a 44-34 halftime lead as they pounded mismatches with coach Norman Black forced to sit out Aquino for extended minutes in the second period due to fouls.