SMB, Aces have back to the wall

San Miguel Beer and Alaska Milk might have gained automatic entry into the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinals but are now fighting for their lives as they take on Talk n Text and Coca-Cola, respectively, today at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen and the Aces have found themselves with their back to the wall after they suffered sorry defeats to the Red Bull Barako Thunder and the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings at the start of the quarters in the same venue Wednesday.
The Beermen bowed to the Thunder, 89-96, while the Aces were beaten by the Kings, 73-80.

Now, the Beermen and the Aces must find a way to recover quickly or they practically kiss their title bid goodbye in the tournament which, ironically, they dominated during the elimination round.

If ever, it would be a sorry exit especially for the Beermen who topped the eliminations with 16 victories against only two losses.

One of those two defeats came at the hands of Talk n Text and that could be a cause for serious concern for San Miguel coach Jong Uichico in their rematch with the Phone Pals at 4:10 p.m. today.

For coach Tim Cone and his Aces, a pair of victories by a whopping average margin 17.5 points over the Tigers in their last two games could give them little comfort entering their 6:30 p.m. match.

The Aces beat the Tigers by 15 only last June 2 in a knockout game for the second outright slot in the quarters.

However, the weeklong layoff seemed not to work on Alaska’s favor as seen in its struggling performance versus Ginebra Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the PBA announced that the upper box will be free to the public today as the league joins the nation in the celebration of Independence Day. Fans are requested to bring proof of purchase of any PBA team products.