SMB-SLR tiff sets off wild card wars

PBA action shifts to playoff mode today as the wildcard battles in the Gran Matador Philippine Cup begin at the Araneta Coliseum.

San Miguel Beer faces Sta. Lucia Realty and Purefoods collides with Coca-Cola at the start of their best-of-three showdown.

Shell and Alaska Milk, which finished third and fourth in the double-round classifications, take their first of two cracks at the quarterfinals versus Red Bull Barako and FedEx, respectively, Tuesday.

Barangay Ginebra and Talk n Text have gained outright entry into the Final Four by topping the classifications.

Settling for fifth place after being beaten by Alaska Friday, San Miguel (9-9) has found itself in equal footing with sixth placer Purefoods (9-9), seventh seed Coca-Cola (8-10) and eighth-ranked Sta. Lucia (6-12).

The four teams must survive a best-of-three showdown in the wildcard duels to make the quarters.

Though finishing the prelims three full games clear of Sta. Lucia, the Beermen feel they have a job cut out for them against the Realtors in their showdown.

"May materyales iyan at hindi pwedeng biruin," said San Miguel coach Jong Uichico of Sta. Lucia.

Finishing a notch higher than Coca-Cola, the Hotdogs likewise are wary of the Tigers. Many feel the Tigers have gained additional morale-boost on the recent appointment of coach Chot Reyes as chief tactician of the Philippine national team.

Reyes, however, has turned over coaching responsibilities to chief deputy Biboy Ravanes, who could be the focus of much attention in the Purefoods-Coke tiff.

Incidentally, Ravanes has had a perfect 3-of-3 record in games he called the shots for the Tigers in the absence of Reyes. The recently-appointed RP coach is now expected to stay behind the Coca-Cola bench.

"I don’t want coach Biboy to have a crutch. I want him to stand on his own feet," said Reyes.