Top 2 dispute who’s better

Ginebra, the crowd favorite, and San Miguel, the tournament favorite, square off tonight at the Araneta Coliseum with the Beermen trying to hold on to the solo lead in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference.

San Miguel is on top of the standings with a 5-2 record while Ginebra is running second at 4-2, making the 6:35 p.m. encounter as exciting as the previous ones involving the two teams.

The Gin Kings have won their last two games and will try to further stretch their win streak. A win will enable them to trade places with the Beermen, winners of their last game.

A three-way tie for third among Red Bull, Shell and Purefoods has turned this import-spiced conference into a tight race with two more teams, FedEx and Talk N Text, closely behind at 3-3.

Alaska, which has yet to get going this conference, tries to put one over FedEx when the two teams clash in the Sunday curtain-raiser at 4:15 p.m. Both teams are eyeing a second straight win.

The Ginebra-San Miguel match will be a continuation of their exciting semifinals encounter during the All-Filipino Conference. The Gins Kings won that matchup and went on to beat Talk N Text for the title.

San Miguel coach Jong Uichico, however, would rather look at the present situation.

"We’ve had great games (this conference) and I think team effort is the key to where we are right now. I have impressive individual players but teamwork is what we’re trying to do right now," he said.

Sam Miguel is coming off an 85-79 win over Purefoods in Gen. Santos City a few days ago, losing a 20-point lead but hanging on to victory.

"I keep telling my players they are really great players, but team effort is what makes us win and what we really need right now. I hope that we had learned that mistake in facing Ginebra," added Uichico.

The Gin Kings, on their part, are on a two-game streak and coach Siot Tanquingcen is hoping that his team could get it going.

"We’ll just take it one game at a time. If we lose, then we regroup. If we win, we prepare for the next game.

It’s just like that, but it will all boil down to who wants the victory more," he said.