SMBeer, Air21 clash in sudden death today

San Miguel Beer seeks to keep its title-retention bid alive while Air21 pursues its campaign for a breakthrough championship when they clash in sudden-death match in their San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup wildcard playoff at the Araneta Coliseum today.

It’s now or never for both teams in their battle for the right to meet Talk n Text in a best-of-five semifinals series. They play at 6 p.m. with the winner joining Talk n Text, Red Bull and Alaska Milk in the quarters while the loser kissing its title hopes goodbye.

Air21 nearly gained automatic entry into the semifinals on a strong showing in the classification phase but it’s now on equal footing with San Miguel after blowing what had looked like a won ballgame Wednesday.

The Beermen may even enjoy the edge in terms of momentum and mindset as they seek to follow up their 104-103 thriller of a win in Game Two.

With that in mind, Air21 coach Bo Perasol ordered shooting drills and perked up the spirit of his charges in a talk at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Center inside the Ateneo campus yesterday .

Perasol, however, let his deputies to talk and motivate the Express since he was advised to take a full rest after being diagnosed for kidney stones Wednesday.

"If the other coaches have their hairlines receding, I’m suffering from so much stress. It first hit me when I was coaching the Surigao Miners in the MBA," said Perasol.

Perasol, however, is confident that he would be up and about for today’s game, having gotten shots of three different kinds of pain-killers.

But the Express may need some kind of resiliency to survive a battle-scarred champion team in the Beermen — owners of no less than 17 titles in the league.