Thunder choke with anger, go for kill

Terquin Mott escaped suspension from his choking incident Sunday at the Big Dome but the former Coppin State standout and his San Miguel teammates may need to work extra hard to stop an enraged Red Bull which may rampage all the way to a successful title defense.

Mott, who allegedly grabbed Lang in a headlock while heading to the dugouts, was spared any suspension but fined P100,000. San Miguel assistant coach Art dela Cruz was fined P20,000 for his involvement in the fracas while Talk N Text coach Bill Bayno was fined P10,000 for giving instructions to his team through a "runner" after being ejected from the game also last Sunday.

But the Thunder were unhappy over the sanction the PBA slapped on Mott and stressed they would finish off the Beermen in their Commissioner’s Cup semis duel today at the Philsports Arena.

"I was fined P50,000 just for flashing a dirty finger. Then there’s this person who got only P50,000 more for a very serious action, done in a premeditated manner, that could have endangered the life and the playing career of another person," said Guiao, fined P50,000 for his confrontation with Sta. Lucia player Marlou Aquino earlier in the conference.

"Yung magkapatid (Mott and his brother) tried to ambush Tony Lang. Mott was smashing Lang’s face on a grill. He could have choked Lang to death or caused serious injury. Tapos iyun lang ang nakuha niya," Guiao added.

Acting PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios said Mott’s "relatively clean record in his past two conferences have been considered as mitigating against imposing a more severe penalty in the case."

Guiao said the light penalty the PBA imposed on Mott will further motivate his team to play harder today. He said: "Talagang tatapusin na namin ito."

The Thunder did only a light workout yesterday, hoping to store up on energy for today’s game where they go for the kill against a beleaguered San Miguel squad. Likewise going for a sweep is Talk N Text versus Alaska in their own side of the semis at 5:30 p.m.

The Thunder moved on the brink of a return stint in the Commissioner’s Cup title playoff with a 72-68 victory Friday and an 83-80 decision in the tumultuous Game Two Sunday.

PBA watchers consider the Red Bull-SMB duel as the virtual championship of the tourney. They expect the winner of the series to beat the winner of the Talk N Text-Alaska tiff in the finals.